In March of 2016, Paul joined his friends for an evening of casual drinks and banter at Black Jack in DC. At some point in the evening, Paul looked across the bar and saw Anna. Per usual, she was bopping around with her hair trying to keep up with her dance moves. His heart and curiosity chimed in, 'I have to talk to that girl...’ and he went for it. Leaning in, he said, ‘we have the best hair in the bar’ (Paul, not knowing this would be the last time anyone would talk about his hair when Anna was around). They drifted over to the bar and bonded over their enjoyment of Old-Fashioned cocktails. Many laughs and flirty eyes later, they set their next date. The rest is history....

Paul’s initial idea for the proposal was to fly a blimp around a stadium professing his love for Anna. Upon arrival of the package, Paul noticed the assembly of the ‘love’ blimp would take twice as long as the proposal itself. He went back to the drawing board and remembered their bucket list item of a night ride around the monuments. That summer was especially hot in DC but the big day was a perfect 75 degrees. They casually rode around the monuments, gaped at the iconic structures, and carried on their merry way. They stopped at the Hirschhorn Museum where they were greeted by a violinist. As he played, Anna quickly realized the melody was a theme song to their memorable trip to Italy. Hand over mouth; she turned to Paul who was down on one knee. Paul pointed up and directed Anna’s gaze to the side of the museum, which projected ‘Anna, will you marry me?’ With tear-filled eyes and a big smile she said, Yes!