Andrea and Justin first met at the beach the day after Andrea's 21st birthday. Melissa, Andrea's maid of honor, recounted that the minute he walked up on the beach Andrea gestured for them to go to the water so she could tell her how cute he was- even when showing up right after a long sweaty day of work. Chauncey, Justin's best man and roommate at the time, was hesitant to share his best friend of over 20 years but eventually knew there was no stopping the developing romance. They spent the rest of the day hanging out (at a distance) with friends at one of their classic COVID bonfires in Chloe's backyard. Justin remembers being too nervous to talk to Andrea that day but knew he wanted to see her again. After that day there were many more beach days ahead of them.

Justin and Andrea's first date occurred spontaneously after hanging out at Justin's apartment. Restaurants were beginning to open back up and they had the idea to go to a local restaurant, Rudee's at the Inlet. They both wanted to sit at the swinging tables located outside of the marina. It was the middle of summer and Justin was so excited to drive Andrea in his doorless 1998 Jeep. Andrea neglected to tell him how car sick she was after that ride (Justin said she hid it very well). There, they discovered that they had gone to the same middle school, with their younger sisters even being friends. They spent the rest of their date learning more about how similar they were to each other. They even happened to order the same meal and drinks. They didn't want that day to end but Andrea had to drive back to William & Mary. After that first date, Justin would regularly make trips after work to Williamsburg just to spend time with Andrea.

Justin had a little secret that had been brewing for over a year... Anna, Andrea's sister, and Chauncey were the first people to know that Justin had bought the engagement ring and planned to propose. Anna states that keeping this secret was the hardest thing she had to do and that Justin made her hold on to this information for a whole year before the timing was right! Justin never thought that he would spend hours, days, or even months researching different types of diamond cuts and ring styles, but he wanted it to be perfect. After finally securing the one, he proceeded to show every single one of his friends and family members. The next step was planning the perfect proposal. When Andrea was out of town, Justin mustered up the courage to tell Pilar and Heinz, Andrea's parents, that he had the ultimate proposal plan. He secretly organized a trip to Shenandoah to fulfill a plan to go hiking in the mountains which he and Andrea had been talking about doing since very early on in their relationship. The day had finally come. Andrea remembers wondering why Justin was so sweaty during the hike on a crisp fall day in late November. Once they reached the top of the mountain Justin had to scout out a good kneeling position amongst the rocky mountain cliffs. This entailed taking several pictures of Andrea with her back turned. When Andrea finally said she was done taking pictures and started to make her way back to the car, Justin tapped her shoulder and popped the question. She cried. Justin secretly had arranged for both his parents and her parents to be waiting at Veritas Winery which was a huge surprise. They walked through the Christmas lights at the vineyard and spent the rest of the night talking about how awesome his plan was. Justin did an amazing job!