Festeggiamo!

The Intro: Alex and Denielle’s first date started just as any good fairytale starts: with Alex being twenty minutes late. They were to meet at Round Corner Cantina, a Lawrenceville staple. Armed with the instructions to look for a girl in the millennial female uniform, the jean jacket, Alex was determined to meet his date. The First Sight: Like a lighthouse beacon in the night, there she was sitting at the outdoor bar. Upon his soft tap to the denim coat, THE woman turned. Alex was immediately overwhelmed with her beauty and her charmful smile. Her eyes embraced his as they stood up and made their way to their table. He knew then and there Denielle was special. The Meal: Without a shred of timidity, each ordered the amount of food fit for a family of four giants: street corn, chips and guac, tacos, burritos and more. The table was a clown car, as each plate the waiter brought it became more incredulous as to how we could fit any more in front of us. What would become a penchant of ours, our eyes’ appetite was far greater than our mouths. The Conversation: For the rest of the world, the date lasted a few hours but for Alex and Denielle it felt like time was suspended and mired in a thicket of mutual admiration. Throughout the date they discovered they shared an affinity for gangster stories, an appreciation for a good taco and an irrational love for the movie, Twister. Like Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton, the restaurant seemed to whirl about them like a class 4 tornado, but at the eye of the storm, their gazes were locked upon each other, their attention solely on the other. The End: The conclusion of the date was met with a proposal of another one and many more after that. Except for 2020, the couple has returned to that same table to replicate the same order from that first date. No matter where the future takes these two, they will always have that night at the Cantina and as every anniversary comes around, it will always be celebrated with tacos and Twister!

For those who know Denielle and Alex, they know how much these two love to travel. One destination that had been on the two's travel list was Savannah, Georgia. The plethora of Spanish moss, centuries of history and gas-lit 18th century homes was something that interested the couple but continually escaped the destination line of their plane ticket. Before their engagement, the couple had been dating for 1,015 days. As mentioned before, Alex knew the moment he met her that this girl was special, so he had been planning ideas to propose to her for 1,014 days. He knew that the proposal had to occur on a trip and he thought what better place than in beautiful Savannah. The morning of THE day, Alex “just remembered” that he had a Valentine’s Day present for her that he forgot to give (that he also just so happened to have on their trip): a photo book he designed*. He suggested they mosey down to their beautiful courtyard behind the Air bnb to look through it. The front cover contained a pictured collage of random ticket stubs, receipts, maps, etc. from the couple’s various dates and trips taken together. The body of the book contained photos of their travels together in chronological order starting with their epic Iceland trip. As each page turned, Alex’s stomach turned more and more like it was a towel being rung dry. Dee finally reached the last page where it included a picture of the two and said at the bottom, “Will you go with me on our next adventure?” At this moment, Alex popped down on one knee, and professed his love that ended in “will you marry me”. Fortunately, she said yes and the two embraced only to be interrupted by “CONGRATULATIONS”. Unbeknownst to the couple, two elderly women were watching from the house next door, which ended up being perfect as they had a built-in photographer. The rest of the long weekend in Savannah was a magical time that allowed the couple to exclusively celebrate their engagement and for Denielle to stare at her finger. .