Anthony and Gabi met in 7th grade Math class with Mr. Jaudon. They sat next to each other and Anthony liked to make fun of Gabi for eating her chocolate balls everyday (AKA Sixlets). Anthony never admitted it then, but told Gabi later that there was a day she wore the same basketball shorts that he had at home. That day he went home and yelled at his mom for buying him girl shorts... They were really boy's shorts and Gabi was just a tom boy. Gabi and Anthony had a lot of mutual friends in middle school and ended up in the same Xbox Live party. That's where Anthony asked Gabi for her phone number! After that, they had your typical on again, off again middle school relationship. They would occasionally hang out in groups either at the rink or Bartlett Fest, but mainly hung out via Skype. Gabi and Anthony decided to "settle down" and "get serious" their sophomore year... Whatever that means for a high school relationship. Fast forward through their high school and college years, Gabi and Anthony got to experience many of life's ups and downs and so many amazing milestones together. They truly got to grow as individuals and grow with each other, which ultimately strengthened their relationship to what it is now.

On the day of the proposal Gabi had NO IDEA what was to come at the end of the night. The day started with going to the city to spend the day and night with Anthony's sister, Nicole and her now fiancé, Matt. The day was spent exploring the city of Chicago with Gabi living her best life and Anthony stressed out of his mind, hoping the weather would clear up by proposal time. The group rode bikes along Lake Michigan, going in and out of shops and restaurants until it started down pouring on them and they had to find shelter at a local pub. Luckily the clouds parted in time for them to make it to dinner and eventually back to the apartment, where they stopped to grab drinks to bring up to the rooftop for firework time. Little did Gabi know, Anthony also had to grab something else. When they got to the rooftop, there were many people up there waiting for the firework show happening at Navy Pier. Nicole told Gabi that her photographer friend was going to be there taking a time lapse video of the firework show and of course Gabi thought nothing of it. While Anthony and Gabi were watching the fireworks, Nicole suggested her photographer friend take a picture of them. Again, Gabi thought nothing of it and jumped up to take a picture. After taking a couple pictures, Anthony began to get down on a knee but Gabi having seen this act before didn't believe what was going on. She thought Anthony was tying his shoe and messing with her like he did once before on their trip to Niagara Falls. After repeating "Really?", "Are you serious?", and "Is this real?" again and again, it started to sink in what was happening once she noticed the sincerity on Anthony's face and the ring he was holding in a little box. The rest of the night was a whirlwind filled with love surrounded by family that came to surprise Gabi and celebrate the engagement of the couple.