Andrew and Amanda met on the night of October 18, 2019, at The Famished Frog bar in Morristown, NJ. That night, Andrew visited from DC to surprise his friend who was in town from overseas. Amanda went to the bar to blow off steam with a co-worker after a rough day in the classroom. As the night progressed, Amanda was joking with friends about men's and women's stereotypical favorite colors. To prove a point that most would say blue, she started tallying results by asking guys throughout the bar to share their favorite colors. Amanda conducted her survey duties diligently, but noticed that none of the guys cared much about the survey question, and saw this scientific experiment as flirting. An hour later, she spotted Andrew across the bar and thought he was good looking. So, she knew exactly how to flirt with him: by asking him his favorite color. Although skeptical of the question and survey itself, Andrew finally gave in and submitted his result after a few rounds of follow up questions. Amanda's plan worked—they hit it off right away, and both of their friend groups came together to dance, tell jokes, and even propose! One of their friends said "You're perfect for my friend (Andrew)" and another said "you two should get married". So Andrew took apart a straw popcorn basket, tied a knot, and "proposed". Fun fact- Andrew proposed to Amanda 5 1/2 years later first with the straw knot in Peru! At brunch a day later with two of their friends, Amanda and Andrew continued to hit it off, and the connection they found on their first night grew even stronger. Amanda and Andrew started to date long distance, with nightly FaceTime calls and frequent trips back and forth from DC to NJ and NJ to DC. When Covid hit, Amanda packed a bag for two weeks to "flatten the curve" at Andrew's place and two weeks quickly turned into 5 years! Throughout that time, Andrew and Amanda shared countless adventures and trips together, cooked hundreds of new and old family favorite recipes, and raised two bunnies and an Australian Labradoodle! For those wondering, Andrew's favorite color is blue!

Amanda and Andrew got engaged in Maras, Peru, at the stunning Mountain View Experience resort. Andrew secretly coordinated with the hotel staff over WhatsApp to plan a surprise proposal and photographer. The plan was to pop the question at 4:30 p.m. during a mountain-view sunset picnic. As they drove up the mountain toward the resort, the sky began to cloud over and light rain started to fall—Andrew’s nerves kicked in. But just before 4:00, the clouds began to part, revealing the breathtaking view of Mount Chicon. Their picnic began, complete with delicious snacks and a stunning backdrop. A photographer approached and mentioned they worked with the hotel, offering complimentary photos. Amanda and Andrew happily agreed. After taking a few pictures together, the photographer asked Amanda to pose facing the mountains. That’s when Andrew got into position, reached into his pocket—and pulled out the popcorn basket ring from the night they met in 2019. After a sweet throwback proposal with the original “ring,” Andrew brought out the real one. Amanda said yes, and after a few happy tears and lots of smiles, the two celebrated with an impromptu engagement photoshoot in the mountains.