While attending the University of Hartford, we were originally introduced during the spring semester of 2016 at a Valentine’s Day themed social. (A special thank you to Miranda’s Big, Michelle, and one of Jesse’s fraternity brothers, Mario) We continued to talk for a few weeks but as it often does, life got in the way and we fell out of contact. *Fast Forward to July 23, 2018* Exhausted from looking for love in all the wrong places, Miranda had thought of Jesse from time to time—wondering how he was doing, what he was up to, and if he was seeing anyone…So that morning she decided to slide into his Instagram DMs with “Hey Jesse! How’ve you been?” After seeing the message and consulting with his coworker, Steve, over how to respond, he did...about four hours later. A few weeks of texting, making phone calls, and falling asleep watching The Office on video chat with one another later, we decided to meet halfway for our first date on August 17th, 2018. After enjoying finally seeing each other in person again over a sushi dinner, and Miranda briefly being trapped in the bathroom, we were able to hang out for a bit as we waited for the late viewing of Crazy Rich Asians. It was on her way home that Miranda realized she had just had her last first date and something told her Jesse was the one for whom her soul had been searching. (She even sent a Snapchat to a few friends once she returned home to let them know she had found her husband) After letting Jesse know she was home safe and texting back and forth about their date, Jesse could not help but tell Miranda he loved her. A month later, while at The Big E, Miranda told Jesse she loved him for the first time. For their first Christmas together, Jesse gave Miranda a keychain with the month of August on one side, with a heart on the day of their first date, and on the other says, “Looking forward to our future”—now six and a half years later we’re looking forward to that future more than ever. We are finalizing our wedding plans and ready to celebrate with the people who mean the most to us!

Under the guise of doing a styled shoot to help build a friend’s photography portfolio, Jesse and Miranda arrived at Jones Family Farms & Winery in Shelton, CT. After turning the corner Miranda was surprised to see her friends, Marissa and Dominque, holding a ‘Marry Me?’ banner just a short walk away. After a few sweet words and the big question from a very nervous Jesse, we were engaged! Together with the friends who helped pull off the surprise, we spent the rest of our engagement day celebrating first at the winery followed by dinner at Cava Restaurant, before hanging out for the night at the hotel pool. A few weeks later, we found out that the photographer who had taken our photos had lost the SD card. But we are so grateful to Eric and Giancarlo for capturing the video and some phone photos (See those on our gallery page!) During her birthday weekend several weeks later, Miranda’s mother Debby, and Jesse planned a SECOND surprise proposal at Lee’s Hawaiian Islander, one of their Jersey favorites. (Also available on our gallery page) Our running joke is that Jesse ‘doubled down’—so there is no turning back!