It was the summer of 2019. Michelle was living in her studio apartment in Greenwich village and Joey was living with his high school buddy, Joe Zarou, in Sutton Place. They both were 27, single, living in Manhattan, and looking for that special someone. One day while Michelle was swiping left on every guy she came across, she stumbled on Joey’s profile. She thought he was handsome, funny, and had a smile that she just couldn’t resist but to swipe right on. Meanwhile, Joey was swiping right on every girl when he received a notification from Michelle. According to Joey, Michelle’s profile pictures weren’t the best but after exchanging a few messages with her, he quickly realized that she was special. After a few days of messaging, Joey worked up the courage to ask Michelle out. Joey did some research and found a bar that was 5 mins walking distance from Michelle’s apartment. Michelle knew the bar he picked but was skeptical because she knew it to be a “college” bar. Despite a fear that they may not serve dirty martinis, she still agreed to go as she appreciated that Joey took the initiative to find a place and thought it was considerate of him to choose a location that was convenient for her. Joey was excited and arrived early to secure seats at the bar. He waited anxiously for Michelle to arrive not knowing what to expect. Twenty-five minutes went by and there was no sign of Michelle. Joey thought he got stood up until he received a text from Michelle that said “running late”. He thought to himself, no kidding, but respectfully told Michelle to take her time. Eventually, Joey glanced at the door and saw what he described as the most beautiful girl in the world walk in. He was absolutely blown away by her beauty as in his experience, most of his prior hinge dates looked better on the app than in real life. He was excited that Michelle was the exact opposite - a hidden gem if you will. Once Michelle was able to catch her breath from allegedly “running” to the bar to avoid being late, the two of them sat down. They spoke for hours about things like travel, family, sports, and so much more. After a few drinks and some great conversation, Joey asked for the check, but Michelle was not ready to go home just yet. Michelle asked Joey if he wanted to grab one more drink at a “non-college” bar she knew nearby called analogue. Joey was caught off guard since it was midnight on a Wednesday night and none of his prior dates ever asked him to go to a second bar. But he also wasn’t ready for the date to end so they proceeded to the next bar. When they arrived at Analogue, Michelle ordered her go-to blue cheese stuffed martini. At the time, Joey wasn’t very familiar martinis but little did he know that after dating Michelle for some time that he would soon become a martini expert himself. The two of them stayed at the bar until last call at which point Joey walked Michelle home. During the walk home, Joey asked Michelle if she was doing anything fun for the upcoming weekend. There was an Alesso concert in Brooklyn that Michelle had tickets to with a few of her friends. Joey really wanted to go to that concert but had no one to go with since his friends were out of town (not because he’s a loser). To be kind, Michelle invited Joey to join her and her friends, thinking that he wouldn’t actually come. Well, Joey followed up with Michelle and decided to join her. When Michelle told her friends about Joey coming, they all thought she was crazy for inviting someone she just met. They ended up having the most amazing time together and realized that there was something special between them. They kissed for the first time that night and never looked back. They are so excited to drink martinis and dance to Alesso with all of their friends and family on 10/1/22 to complete their fairy tale!