Joanna and Mark first met in their 3rd grade CCD class, but it wasn't until high school where they soon became good friends. Over the course of high school, they enjoyed many classes together and even got to work together at that best local ice cream shop, Cliff’s Dairymaid! One of the first things Mark noticed about Joanna was her sense of humor, and Joanna admired how kind and fun Mark was to be around. During their senior year of high school, they took a small trip to New York City. While taking a romantic stroll through Central Park, Mark asked Joanna to be his girlfriend, and the two officially began their relationship.

After graduating from high school in June 2012, Mark and Joanna both began the next phase of their young lives at college. Mark attended the University of New Haven in Connecticut, while Joanna attended Rutgers University in New Jersey. Although their college years were mostly spent physically away from each other, they never felt alone because they visited each other, texted in between classes, and connected on Facetime for hours! Finally, in May of 2016, they both graduated and were able to spend a lot more time together. Since then, they have supported each other in their careers. Mark began his first job as a fire inspector and investigator, and after graduate school, Joanna began working as an occupational therapist.

Fast forward 3 years to July 2019, Joanna has graduated with her masters in occupational therapy and is excited to go on vacation with Mark and her whole family to Long Beach Island for a week. Did you do the math? At this point, Joanna and Mark had been dating seven and a half years! Before leaving for LBI, Mark and Joanna had planned to go out to a romantic dinner alone on the last day of vacation. After dinner and dessert, Mark suggested they take a walk next to the lighthouse. They were walking on the sand taking in the views of the beautiful ocean and feeling the wind in their hair, when suddenly Mark stopped. Mark turned towards Joanna, took her hands, and then got down on one knee. Although Joanna doesn’t remember Mark’s exact words, it was followed by the happiest “Yes!” from Joanna. A hidden photographer captured the exciting moment of their engagement by the lighthouse. After the engagement photoshoot, they went back to the shore house in Surf City where they were greeted by their families to celebrate!