We cannot express the joy and honor you all bring to us!

6 years ago Stephen was working for a Consulting firm, where he established a good relationship with one of the executives in the financial services field. As Stephen was looking to expand his footprint he started searching on LinkedIn for additional prospects and he came across the most beautiful, credentialized, and at the time unrealistic profile he had ever seen named “Joanna Corneanu”. Focused on professional growth Stephen asked Joanna to coffee to help learn more about the area he was now working in, she accepted. Stephen was excited. They met for the first time in person at a Starbucks during the heat of the summer and Stephen was in full suit and tie, sweating like a dog. Joanna stood tall in a powerful “don’t mess with me” red dress. They went into business convo and parted ways. During this time they were both in long term relationships. 4 years later, after both previous relationships ironically came to an end, Stephen reached back out to Joanna. He said how much he admired her for not only her beauty but more importantly her brains and authenticity as in CLT this isn’t something you see every day. He asked if she would be open to going out on a date. Stephen was taking a hietas to Mexico and so they started texting.. non stop for a week... late into the night and early mornings connecting on a deeper level than any of them had experienced before. Aligning on goals, career paths, family, interests, it seemed too good to be true. Stephen was dying to get home, and left Isla Mujeres still glued to his phone with Joanna. He arrived home and asked Joanna to go on a date in 7 days. But when he walked through his door, he dropped his bags and texted Joanna “I can’t wait this long, I have to see you tonight - she said me neither - I said let’s meet at PF Chang’s at 8pm. So they had their first date. It was everything and beyond what they dreamed of, and years later, they now have a beautiful golden retriever Rex and been happily ever after, ever since.

Stephen proposed to Joanna on the Spanish Steps, Rome, Italy, right at sunset, during the very first evening of their vacation and after 17h of delays/ flight cancellations and travel across the ocean. He surprised her with the trip ahead of time and went above and beyond to ensure her parents were there. She did not see it coming until her parents “magically disappeared” and Stephen got down on one knee! She said yes without hesitation and they celebrated for 10 days in beautiful Rome and Amalfi coast.