We both walked into the restaurant Good Luck in Rochester, NY and after one hug, we knew something felt different in the best way possible! We got a drink at the bar and talked for hours, quickly realizing that we had so much in common - our passion for education, our love of Disney, our family values, our optimistic outlook on life, and even our favorite Friends character (Joey, obviously).

Over the next year and a half, we would go through everything in life together! Matt helped Nina through her first Admissions travel season and we grew closer spending weekends together. He vowed to show her all of his favorite places in Rochester. The time and adventures we spent together led us to fall in love!

Spending 24 hours a day together only brought us closer together! We got a lot of take-out dinners, worked at the dining room table together, and took our dog, Winston, on many long walks to get out of the house. With both of us at home, we decided that this was the perfect time to add a second dog to our family! On April 4, 2020, we were lucky enough to rescue our sweet, sassy Chihuahua/Spaniel mix, Macie.

Our engagement story is quite the story! Matt's plan was to propose to Nina in the Summer of 2021. So, the year before, we started looking at engagement rings together. Then, it happened! Matt found the perfect ring! He bought the ring on New Years Eve, starting off 2021 with so much excitement and anticipation. But now that he had the ring, he couldn't wait to propose! We had a romantic weekend planned for Valentine's Day to Watkins Glen...the perfect time to propose. The Wednesday leading up to proposal weekend, we decided to do a date night! We got pizza & smoothies and ate them by the beach at Durand Eastman Park, listening to music. We walked out onto the snowy, icy sand and watched the sunset - what a beautiful, romantic moment! Matt turned to Nina and said, "If I had the ring, I'd propose to you right now". We went home and watched an episode of How I Met Your Mother (Season 2, Episode 20), but that romantic moment didn't go away! We looked at each other and Matt knew this was it. This was the perfect moment and he couldn't wait any longer! So he ran upstairs, grabbed the ring, and proposed to Nina in our living room with the dogs around us! Nina tackled Matt to the floor and cried tears of joy! However, Matt still wanted to do the proposal that he had planned in Watkins Glen! He wanted to give Nina the proposal that she had been picturing in her head all her life. So when we left for our trip, Matt asked for the ring back and hid it in his pocket. The second we arrived, Matt suggested that we go for a walk on the pier to "take in the sights". When we got to the end of the pier, he got down on his knee once again and proposed! For a second time! We had our "perfect moment" proposal and our "picture perfect" proposal! We spent the rest of the weekend in Watkins Glen celebrating together with massages, hiking, free champagne, and a romantic dinner! Our engagement story may not be typical, but it is 100% us! And that's what makes it perfect!