The story of how we met could easily be a plot for the next Netflix rom-com. Boy meets girl online, they meet in person, they have commonalities but aren’t wowed with each other, the rest is history. Ours is more telling of how we agreed with our disdain for certain things more than our similarities (cues Seinfeld reference). We met on a dating website called Hinge- which is essentially a snapshot of pictures and catch phrases that are what you want people to think you are like. We asked each other your typical favorite movie questions and “Italian food or Mexican food?” We even talked a bit about how we would play mini-golf on our first date and how confident Heather was on winning. (Side note: we still haven’t played each other). Our first date we met on a Friday night in 2019 and had dinner and drinks at a tapas bar. It was a night of getting to know each other and trying to figure out why each of us is still single. Michael asked to take Heather’s leftovers home at the end of the night (this was a very suspicious move in Heather’s eyes) and wound up giving them to a homeless veteran he originally saw on his way into the restaurant. This was the first of many caring and compassionate things he has done. The Covid-19 pandemic brought us closer in ways we never could have anticipated. Heather, a nurse on the frontlines, and Michael, a newfound stay-at-home cat dad. We had to find new ways to do date night from a candlelit dinner on the porch to takeout on a park bench in downtown Knoxville. We bonded over the challenges both of us were facing in our careers. Fast forward to the summer of 2021 in the Big Apple, Heather's hometown. We were getting ready to head to dinner and the rain began to dissipate. As the two hopped in the Uber, Michael suggested the two go to a park in Brooklyn since there was no rain under the camouflage that this would be the best chance to go to one of the best spots to overlook Lower Manhattan. As the two walked down the boardwalk, Michael found the photographer, stopped and suggested she face the Statue of Liberty so he could get a photo. With her back turned, he dropped to a knee and popped the question. YES! After three years together we are excited to celebrate our wedding in one of the most beautiful places in the country and the place we fell in love.