How We Met
It is hard to put into words perfectly how Alex and I met. It was almost a circumstance of events and also the most millennial way possible. The short story is that we met on Bumble. The more romantic for us is that we were always missing each other until the timing was utterly perfect. We swiped right to each on Bumble on March 26th, 2016. We happened to be near each other in NYC when we matched even though we both lived in New Jersey, 8 minutes away from each other, to be exact. By the end of the night, I had given him my number, and we have spoken every day since the night we met.
About three weeks into talking, we finally met up and ended up sitting at a bar for almost 5 hours just talking about everything and anything. It was the first time I was on a date where I feel like I could indeed be myself, and it felt perfect. The more we started to talk, the more we realized we were consistently in the same place at the same time; night classes at the same college in the same building, working across the street from one another, and even the same concerts. The most defining coincidence was that we realized that he used to go to my family’s pizza place as a child. I remember him telling me it was his favorite pizza, and that meant so much to me. What makes it defining is that my dad died when I was eleven years old; I never thought I’d meet, nonetheless, marry a man who had been in a room with my father.
How They Asked
As for the engagement, I feel so lucky to have Alex who planned out the perfect engagement working with very little means during COVID. When I was a kid my parents and I used to go to a winery in Hudson Valley with all their friends. Alex and I had many trips planned for this year that all got canceled, so we ended up at the same Airbnb twice in one summer. On the second trip, we decided to go to the winery where my parents took me. We walked around, got some wine, we even recreated a photo together that my parents took years ago, and when we were on were way back to our table for dinner Alex got down on one knee, pulled out a tiny ring box that said “I love you and I like you.” from parks and rec, and asked me to spend the rest of our lives loving each other. At that moment everything was absolutely perfect.
I feel really lucky to have found him – and his proposal post really said it best, “I’m glad the universe brought us together when it did, but I’ll always believe our love story started at your dad’s pizzeria when we were kids.” I am so lucky I have found a man who respects my grief, loves me and chooses me every day.
