you are The Who love is the what and this is the why

April and Brendan met on an ABC Ministries retreat in 2017. April was one of the people running the youth retreat that weekend and Brendan was one of the youth ministers there... It all started in the chapel at Camp DeWolfe. April was giving the Friday night prayer when Brendan walked in late because he had a concert earlier that night. April finished up her prayer and instructions and while the kids where engaged in their next activity she walked over with another team member to go introduce herself to him. Some would say it was love at first sight because in that moment they both knew that they had met someone very special. After spending the whole retreat together they went on their first date that Tuesday, April 25. After quite a few failed attempts to meet up and a sprained wrist later (see first date story for more details) they went to a local bar in April's town and talked until closing. The next Sunday at midnight Brendan asked April to be his girlfriend and the rest is history. Brendan proposed to April almost 2 years later (April 7, 2019) in the exact same spot where they met in front of 30+ screaming youth group kids. It was April's dream come true. Brendan went above and beyond to create an elaborate plan with so many moving parts; April was completely shocked and was totally not expecting it! She had blue paint all over her fingers from that morning and her hair up in a low bun (something that would have never happened if she knew). April and Brendan cannot wait to take the next step in their journey by becoming husband and wife on December 27, 2020 in St. Boniface Martyr Church. They invite all of their family and friends to come celebrate their love at their ceremony at 3pm in Sea Cliff NY.

The Monday before our first date, I was playing volleyball and severely hurt my wrist diving. It was 10pm and I didn't want to go to a walk-in clinic because I had Jury Duty for the first time the next morning. I waited until the next day, went to Jury Duty, got out at 11:30am and went to the nearby emergency room. I thought "who's going to be in the ER at 11:30am on a Tuesday"... let me tell you, everyone and their mother was there. Brendan and I had planned to meet up for a late lunch; he's a teacher and was going to Hofstra for grad school. Well, the time we were suppose to meet came and went and I was still sitting in the ER. I told him I was sorry and even sent him a photo of my bracelet and we moved the time back to meet in between his classes. A few hours passed and I was still sitting there as his first class finished. I was finally being seen, but at that point but there was no hope in me getting out before he had to go back to class. Once again, we tried to push the time back to after his final class. I was FINALLY released from the ER at 7:30pm and went home to change so I could meet him around 9:30pm. We planned to go to The Witches Brew. He ended up getting out early and we decided to meet around 9pm instead. I was less than 5 minutes away when he called to tell me they were closed for renovations. We decided to figure it out when I got there. The plan was for me to hop in his car and for us to go to a local bar or restaurant. I pulled up, parked and went to lock my car from the inside (my key battery didn't work). I put my key into my injured hand, dropped them on the floor, and the car door slammed shut. I walked over to his car, opened the door and the first words out of my mouth were "I just locked my keys in my car". I called mom and she said she would bring a new set to me when we were done. We started driving around to find a place to eat and we weren't having any luck so...

Brendan told me he would drive me home to get my spare key and we could go to the local bar in my town. We drive the 20 minutes, I run into my house where my mom is standing at the door wanting me to introduce him to her. I said no and ran away. Brendan and I ended up at Still Partners in Sea Cliff. We sat there and talked for hours until we closed down the bar at 1am. Brendan is a teacher and has to get up for work at 5:30am. He drove me back to my car and on the way there he grabbed my hand and held it the whole ride back. It felt so natural. When we got back to the Witches Brew he walked me to my car it to make sure I could open it, and kissed me goodnight. Despite all the mishaps it was the absolute perfect first date. Oh and don't worry... we were finally able to go to the Witches Brew on Valentine's Day 2018.