Life doesn’t always go the way you plan… March 13th started as one of the hardest days of my life and ended with tears of joy to celebrate a new chapter in our lives. Jared had planned our engagement on March 13th to propose on a rooftop in New York City, where we had our first date. He didn’t know that this would also be the day that my grandma would be called back to heaven. After hearing the news of my grandma’s passing, he struggled all day about what to do. He reached out to my father for guidance and he expressed that he had to continue, simply saying, “it was what grandma would want him to do!” That night, Jared asked Lauren to take me to get my nails done. When I got back, he sat me down at our dining room table in our Jersey City brownstone, insisting he had to show me a video that my sister sent him. Jared had been on a business trip to Cleveland earlier that week. Before playing the video, he said, “I didn’t go to Cleveland for work on Thursday, instead I was in Kentucky!” The video started to play, and it showed Jared asking my parents, siblings, and my grandma permission for my hand in marriage (just two days before). Jared then got down on one knee and said, “Jessica Jaymes, will you marry me?” The rest was sort of a blur… I remember crying, saying yes, then Jared bringing out our two dogs Zin and Nelly dressed in a little tuxedo and dress! I was proposed to wearing leggings, swollen eyes, and a scrunchie in my hair. It was the most perfect moment we will always cherish. I am one blessed woman to have this man by my side for the rest of my life.

It all started in Brooklyn… On a business trip to NYC, I reconnected with an old high school friend who invited me to a “trendy” art and wine event in one of the many abandon looking warehouses in Brooklyn. When I arrived it was a group of friends, including a beautiful blonde girl wearing a white fedora named Jessica. The event turned out to be a bust, full of hipsters selling jelly and random crafts, but the crew didn’t want to call it a day. Having made the trek from her new apartment in Jersey, Jessica was craving “real” New York pizza, so she suggested we all go to the famous Roberta's Pizzeria. At the pizzeria, Jessica and I quickly started chatting. I wasn’t that impressed with the pizza, and Jessica was appalled that a kid from the west coast would question the taste of a New York pie! We quickly got over our first squabble and split a cab ride back to Manhattan. On the cab ride I built up the nerve to ask Jessica for a drink, after first asking for her LinkedIn profile. We went to the rooftop bar to grab a cocktail. From there, I asked Jessica for her phone number so I “could ask her opinion" on restaurants to visit while I was in town. Later that week, I was taking my boss for dinner and sent a text to Jessica to ask her what was her favorite restaurant in Jersey City. Jessica responded (yes, she responded to a text) with a few suggestions. I then asked Jessica if she wanted to meet up after my dinner. Jessica confirmed, and our "first" date was set. After cutting my dinner short, I left to meet her at Doll Boy, her favorite place. From that point, there was no turning back. The night was full of long chats about traveling, work, family, and friends. We stayed up late chatting. I only left when I remembered I had a 9AM work presentation, which I almost slept through! The following six months were full of shared trips to South Carolina, Chicago, New Jersey, and New York. I moved to Jersey City in early 2019, and the rest is history…