Their story began when Michelle moved across the country from New York to San Francisco. Knowing only Tyler (the Best Man), she hung out with him pretty much every weekend. One weekend, he took her to meet his friend Stephen at a hole-in-the-wall bar in the Mission. They were saving Stephen from a Tinder date gone wrong – yes they crashed the date, it was four hours long, and Stephen didn't know how to end it. Stephen and Michelle became fast friends, not thinking much of their first interaction. Little did they know that first night at the bar would turn into many more nights of endless conversations, their first date on a motorcycle ride through the Redwoods, a first kiss based off a dare (raise a glass to Tyler for that one too), traveling the world, four intellectually stimulating years together, and a proposal made in paradise.

Even though those watching live on instagram saw it coming, Michelle herself was still completely unsuspecting when Stephen proposed to her at The Slow hotel in Bali on August 22nd 2018. Earlier that afternoon, Michelle had wanted to catch the sunset at a nearby beach club but Stephen insisted it would be better to go back to the hotel and watch it from there - more romantic or because he needed something from the room? They drank the Dom Perignon he had hand carried nine thousand miles - a thoughtful gesture because wine was so hard to come by in Indonesia or a clue? After sunset Stephen said he had a small gift in their room to give her but in fact he had two. Michelle said she hoped it was chocolates, and it was. Stephen said he had one more thing for Michelle but at this point all she wanted to do was have a shower before dinner. He said he would be quick, got down on one knee, and popped the question.