How We Met
Tommy and I met at my prom in 2012 when he was someone’s date in our limo. I didn’t care for him much at first until we met again at a friends graduation party that summer. He was enjoying the pulled pork, that I made for the party, and he was in denial that I could have cooked. about our mutual love of food, playing volleyball in the rain at the party and then being tagged in many photos on Facebook from prom led us to become Facebook friends.
I went away to college my freshman year but agreed to come home for a weekend for a date. Tommy picked me up and we went to a nice Italian restaurant that is a family favorite. When we left dinner Tommy made a wrong turn and we ended up detouring through NYC.
We continued to talk every day and on October 6th, 2012, two weeks after our first date, I came home again because we were going apple picking. My older sister and her friend tagged along for the day trip. I brought my camera with me and we all had a mini photo shoot while apple picking. At one point it started to rain so we found shelter under a tent. Once it stopped raining we started to head back to the car but continued to pick apples here and there.
Tommy was in one row of apples and I was in another row. He called me to where he was I joined him. Tommy said he found the perfect apple and he wanted me to have it. I grabbed the perfect apple out of his hand was a beautiful necklace. He officially asked me to be his girlfriend! That night I went to dinner with his family and met his parents, sister and her boyfriend.
Fast forward to the summer of 2017 when I was at his sister’s wedding. Tommy looked so handsome in a tux I knew he was getting questions from his family and friends about when it was going to be “our turn”. That October we celebrated 5 years of dating and I thought for sure we’d be engaged to celebrate. October came and went and no engagement!
how they asked
Almost every December Tommy and I went to the city with his sister and her now husband to go see the tree. We also got dinner too but it was something simple like pizza or Mexican food! Tommy insisted we go to the Chart House this year, much more upscale than a pizza place in the city. I was so against it because you have to dress very differently for the Chart House compared to walking around the city. Tommy is a police officer and had to work Christmas Eve and Day which was why he wanted a nicer dinner that night. I agreed to the nicer dinner but secretly thought something else was up.
I planned my outfit while talking it through with Tommy’s sister because we had a game plan of changing our shoes and putting on more layers between dinner and going into the city. December 22nd, 2018 arrived and I had two appointments that day. Of course, my last appointment was longer than expected and I hit traffic heading to my house. Tommy arrived to pick me up and I was barely ready. I threw some makeup on, grabbed my shoes and jacket and headed to his truck.
His sister and her husband weren’t in the truck and he said they were driving separately. I was super suspicious at this point. Then our group chat went off and she said they had to make a pit stop at her husband’s uncle’s house since he wouldn’t be there on Christmas. We were told to just go in and have a drink at the bar until they got there. We hit some traffic and Tommy was texting A LOT! His hand was also more sweaty than normal.
We arrived at the Chart House right after 4 pm but the reservation wasn’t until 5 pm. Tommy suggested we walk on the boardwalk and look at the water. I’m always cold but he insisted we wouldn’t be long and that I should leave my coat in the car. We walked a short distance and then just watched the waves of the Hudson crash in the boardwalk. We also almost got hit with a wave which would have been terrible! Tommy then turned to me said beautiful things to me then got done on one knee and asked me to be his wife. Once the tears stopped flowing and my hand stopped shaking he put the ring on my left hand. Suddenly he turned and yelled “All good Peter?”
I asked who Peter was and Tommy said: “Peter is the photographer I hired who’s standing right over there!” I started to ugly cry all over again. We then had a short photo shoot with Peter before heading into the restaurant to have dinner. After dinner, we went to our favorite pub where I thought our parents, siblings and their husbands were meeting us. Turns out Tommy invited our friends, extended family members and also some of my sorority sisters that I don’t get to see often.
The best day of my life was picture perfect and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with my best friend!