We're Getting Married

It was a cold rainy night in the East Village. I had plans to go meet Matt for the very first time, but almost cancelled due to the bad weather. I had met him on Tinder (yes we both swiped right) a week or so earlier and after some small talk we quickly decided to hang out. A few hours before we were suppose to meet however, he messaged me to cancel due to a friend being in town. I wasn’t too upset because no one takes dating on Tinder too seriously. He did ask for a rain check and we rescheduled our date a couple days later. When the time came to actually meet, it was pouring outside. I didn’t really want to go out in the bad weather but the restaurant he suggested was literally right down the street from my apartment and I was pretty hungry. I decided to grab my umbrella and head out. I had know idea that I was about to meet my future husband. As soon as I walked in, I recognized Matt sitting at the very first table. He was wearing a navy suit and the first thing I thought was, “well I didn’t get the memo on the dress code”. I was wearing a very casual red dress and boots. He stood up to give me a hug and that’s when I noticed how tall he was. Then, I noticed he had salt and pepper hair and I quickly came to the conclusion that I had made the right decision about going out that night. I was a little uneasy for being so under dressed but as soon as we started talking, I quickly found myself being wrapped up in great conversation. Matt went ahead and ordered some appetizers for us. I wish I had been paying better attention to what he ordered because once they came out I noticed he had requested the mussels. I had eaten mussels from this restaurant once before, but they hadn’t settled too well in my stomach. I thought to myself that if I only have a few small bites I would be fine. I didn’t want to be rude and not eat it at all. When our meal was done we decided to go across the street to a bar for some late night drink

At the bar we ordered some night caps and our conversation continued. I was having a great time and didn’t want the date to end. About 20 minutes later though, I wasn’t feel so good. Looks like the couple bites of mussels I had was coming back to haunt me. I had to excuse myself and ended up getting sick in the bathroom. I popped in some gum and thought that was the end of it. After about the third time of excusing myself (and after I had finished my last piece of gum) I decided that I had to bring this amazing date to an end. Matt walked me home. Luckily I just got a sweat kiss on the check and a hug. I spent the rest of the night in the bathroom thinking about how I had just blew it with such a great guy. The next day however I got a text from Matt and the rest is history. A few months later I asked him if he knew I was sick in our first date. He sad he had no idea 😘.

I remember it was a cool October evening with a light rain and I was moving fast towards Avenue C to make it on time for dinner with Sophie, a pretty girl I’d been messaging off of Tinder. We’d only exchanged a few messages, but something felt so natural and easy when talking with each other that it didn’t take long to see we should meet up. She seemed sweet, fun, and easy-going with long dark hair and beautiful brown eyes. Everything about her also seemed so entirely unpretentious, that I really wasn’t feeling anxious at all to meet with her, just excited. I’d had to reschedule the first date because a friend came into town, so I really didn’t want to be late for this. I showed up a little early and also a little damp and ordered a beer while I waited for her to arrive. She appeared from my left and I stood up to hug her and soon enough we settled in to get to know one another. I was caught by surprise at how easy it was to talk to her and it was only later I realized how quickly I let my guard down. Dating in New York can sometimes just feel like a job interview, but Sophie just genuinely wanted to get to know me. I was charmed by how sweet she was and impressed at hearing about her war stories as an RN at the hospital she worked at. I was intrigued at how unabashedly positive and kind she was smitten with how shy could be. Time slipped away at dinner and we ended our night reluctantly over a couple cocktails at a bar down the street. We both agreed pretty quickly to see one another again.

We were enjoying a much deserved vacation on the Amalfi Coast. On this particular day, we decided to spend the afternoon on the beach of Positano. We relaxed on the shore where the sea crashed into the rocky cliffs, collected sea glass, and swam in the warm water with the beautiful hillside town of Positano as our back drop. As the day started to dwindle, we decided to explore the town and get some cute photos. I was okay with just staying in the crowded town center but Matt was fixated on getting the perfect photo away from all the chaos. He led me higher and higher up the cliff side through the winding roads and ceramic houses. After a while I was beginning to get really hot and really thirsty. Matt was starting to get super sweaty too and he could tell I was getting tired. Finally Matt went ahead of me to check out another section of the cliff side. When he returned, he said there was a hotel restaurant that was not open yet but had an amazing view where we could snap the perfect photo. I was just relieved to be done with hiking up this mountain and at that point it didn’t really matter to me where we took the photo. When we got to the restaurant however, I realized it was totally worth the hike. The view was beautiful. Matt starts to set up the tripod for the camera and since I’m the one who usually does that, I asked him if he knew what he was doing. That’s when he comes over to me with the ocean breeze blowing through my hair, gets down on one knee, looks up at me with his blue eyes and asked me to be his wife. I was completely shocked. It took me a second to even realize what was happening and I felt like I was spinning. My initial reaction was to say, “Get outta here!" Then, I came to my senses and said, “Of course.” He put the ring on my finger and gave me my first kiss as his fiancé. It was perfect.