I was still working as a paralegal at a local law firm with my coworker-turned-bestie-now-bridesmaid Stephanie. To the surprise of no one, I was casually lamenting about the horrors and tribulations of online dating. Probably fed up with listening to me complain, Stephanie pulled out her phone and began scanning her contacts for eligible bachelors. Miss after miss, but then she showed me Anthony. As soon as she saw him, she gasped like she had a revelation. She was immediately raving about him, claiming we would be a perfect match and got to work (not the actual work we were there for, obviously). She quickly curated a profile of me and sent it to him with a description The Bachelor could only hope to one day achieve. It wasn't long before we were texting incessantly and I was giggling nonstop at my desk. Thanks, Steph :-)

After back-to-back-to-back bad breakups over the course of about five years, I came into 2019 pretty determined to not make any more mistakes. I told my friends that the next person I kissed would be my wife. I even went away to Nashville for my birthday and kept true to my word! A week after I came home from my trip, on April 16, 2019, while I was rotting in my Midtown office at my terrible job that I had out of college, I received a text message from an old friend of mine. It was from a girl that I had met through one of my terrible break-ups! Without even asking how I was she asked me if I was single, to which I replied “yes”. She told me that she had the perfect girl for me. And that is when I received the first picture of the next person I kissed - and the last. We met four days later. We’ve been together ever since.

Anthony's best friend (and groomsman!), Diego and his wife, were visiting from out of state and we were all grabbing dinner together. They were super excited about a party that Lyndsay's family was throwing them in Connecticut the next night, and they had invited us to come and join. They answered every single logistical question I asked without missing a beat and I quite literally did not think about it again. We finished dinner, Anthony had several too many margaritas, and we said we'd all see each other at the party. The next day, Anthony and I got in the car, Diego texted the "address", and we were on our way. When it felt like we were taking longer to get there than anticipated, I started getting nervous we were going to be late. Imagine my surprise when Anthony tells me we're actually early and suggests we stop at a bar to have a drink. I agreed but was confused. How on earth were we early? It definitely didn't feel like we were early. The longer we sat at the bar, the more antsy I became. After we finished our drinks, he lead me into a leisurely stroll and I simply could not ignore it any longer. I started to pester him more about the party: I think we're going to be late. We should probably go, right? Won't they be wondering where we are? Isn't Diego texting you? Why are we not in the car right now? Then we suddenly came up to an area that I immediately recognized from our first date. I think that's when I knew. We sat down and Anthony finally told me there was no party (to which I responded, through tears, "There's no party?") and proposed. The excitement and love was overwhelming, followed closely by the relief that we weren't late after all. Thank you to my best friend and maid of honor, Kristen, for encouraging me to get my nails done that day, to my beautiful bridesmaid Stephanie for using her black magic matchmaker powers for good, Diego & Lyndsay for their spectacular acting and improv skills, and to everyone else in my life who knew the plan but continued to lie to my face for months. I love you all more than words can say.

The plan? Simple: bring Casey back to the Stamford Marina and ask her to marry me. Why? We walked along and sat at the Marina for a long time the night of our first date. During our first date, I brought her there to kiss her. I chickened out (I still did it before the date was over!). I figured I could make up for it, because it had been a running gag that I had chickened out, by popping the question there. But I needed a reason to go back there with her. I used to have family that lived there but they had already moved back to Long Island by the time the proposal became a legitimate thing. Who could I call on in my time of need? I needed a believable decoy. Enter: Diego Portillo, my best friend since 2007, and his wife, Lyndsay. Two Californians who were scheduled to visit New York in October of 2023 to celebrate their own anniversary. Okay - now we got something, because Lyndsay at one point in her life lived in Connecticut. I’m thinking Lyndsay’s fake family that still lives in Connecticut is going to throw a fake party that we’re invited to. Why would we be invited? Because Lyndsay loves Diego and Diego loves me. Of course he can invite his best friend to his wife’s family’s party! Cool. I have the groundwork laid out in my head. Next up: run it by Casey’s bestie and her mother. I officially have my first two partners in crime. They approve and we agree: we’re going to tell a series of lies to Casey over the course of the next few months leading up to the proposal. The next person I told was Stephanie. She had put this thing together, she deserved to know that I was doing it. Next step is to actually tell Diego that I’m doing this. “Hey man, while you’re here I’m going to use you and Lyndsay to ask Casey to marry me”. Diego and Lyndsay agreed to help. Diego always loved a good scheme. Joining my web of lies, they arrive in New York a few days before to do their own thing. Casey and I met up with them twice before the proposal, and during those meetings the three of us continued to build on our lie, talking about this fictional party in this fictional place in Connecticut. The day of the proposal, Diego sent me a fake address. We continued to text fake updates to each other throughout the day. Casey’s bestie Kristen came in clutch by demanding Casey get her nails done the morning of. Everything was set. We left our apartment in Rockaway at 5PM on the night of October 28, 2023. I wasn’t nervous about asking the question, I was nervous about getting there undetected. I told Casey when we were nearing Stamford that we had arrived quicker than I thought we would. I suggested we take a trip down memory lane and visit the Marina like we had done four and a half years prior. She was very concerned about getting to this party but she agreed. We sat for a few minutes and reminisced. And then I finally came clean. “Hey, so listen. Uh, there’s no party.” I wasn’t able to get down on one knee. The way we were sitting didn’t allow it. But I told Casey how much I loved her and what she meant to me. I pulled the ring out, and then I honestly think I blacked out, because the only thing I remember next was her, through a wall of tears, saying yes to me.