To most people, “The City of Love” is Paris. However, for us, that place will always be Las Vegas. It’s here our story began. In a city more often associated with blackjack, buffets, and Elvis impersonators, we found each other. Call it fate, call it luck, but Chris and I both found ourselves waiting in line at the Encore Beach Club pool party. Chris was there on a bachelor party, and I was celebrating an early “dental school graduation”. As you can imagine, the crowd was dressed to impress. There was glitter, there was designer, and there was Macho Man. As a not-so-secret wrestling fan, and new WWE employee, half my wardrobe at the time (and if we’re being honest, still to this day), was wrestling swag. I was there to look my best, so of course I put on my favorite t-shirt. My friends and I were extremely focused on our negotiations with the bouncer, so I was caught off guard when I heard someone yelling, “Hey Macho Man girl!”. After a quick scan of the crowd, I realized I was definitely the only lady wearing a wrestling shirt, and that’s when I first locked eyes with Chris. This exchange was brief though, as the next thing we knew, we were finally being ushered into the pool party. A short while later, I bumped into a very handsome, and as Chris tells it, very ripped guy who I almost didn’t recognize until he smiled and said, “Macho Man girl?” Chris and I hit it off right away and realized we were both from New York, albeit two hours from each other. Thanks to some expert wing-womaning and an incredible blackjack run, we spent the rest of the day together. Rumor has it, I even sent a text claiming we were going to get married. We exchanged numbers with the hope of reconnecting once we were back home, and much to my surprise, a week later we went on our first date. That first date turned into weekly visits, an apartment in Long Island City, and an amazing life together. It’s always felt like we were meant to meet, but that’s still my favorite t-shirt.

One morning, I received a frantic call from my jeweler informing me that I “better pick up this ring” because he was planning to flee the city the next day. I quickly came up with the excuse to Amanda that I had to visit a doctor’s office in the city. After picking up the ring, I needed a place to hide it. Not easy in the apartment where we were both quarantining, but I found a spot in a Jiu-Jitsu bag that I was sure Amanda would never check. Like most others, I thought this pandemic would be about 2 weeks or at most a month. After learning that this would not be the case, I had to reinvent a proposal that was local and personal to both of us. Amanda always loved our rooftop at sunset, and since we were locked down in our apartment, it seemed like a perfect fit. The day before the proposal I did a test run on the roof, setting up candles and flowers in a way that was picturesque, with the sun fading behind the Manhattan skyline. With the pandemic shutting down any chance I had of getting a photographer, I took matters into my own hands and stacked chairs at the perfect height to catch the proposal. I also had the brilliant idea to duct tape a phone to my chest to catch Amanda’s reaction from my point of view. The day of the proposal I planned an apartment date night dinner. If you asked me what we ate that night, I couldn’t tell you because I was so distracted staring out the window hoping it wouldn’t rain. We were having an excellent time when I suddenly realized that sunset was moments away. I left the apartment abruptly, saying I had to go, and ran out the door (smooth, I know). I called Amanda to have her come up to the roof. She arrived already crying. I walked her to the carefully placed x’s which marked where to stand for the perfect photos. I had a paragraph of things to say, but unfortunately, most of what I wanted to say didn’t come out. We are lucky that I even asked her to marry me. Thankfully, she said “yes!”, and I am the luckiest guy I know.