The vet school community is quite small, and while Stephen and Stephanie knew each other, they were a year apart at school and had not hung out much together. Vet school was very demanding of their time, but during their final years in the program, they each decided to give online dating a try. One day, Stephanie was looking through suggested matches when she recognized a familiar face, it was Stephen Furst! She messaged him to say hi and thought it would end there. Stephen received that message and was excited to hear from Stephanie. He had been on clinics and hadn’t seen her in a long time. Realizing they were both single, Stephen decided to ask Stephanie out. They had their first date on November 18, 2011, which consisted of dinner at Simeon’s in the Ithaca Commons, followed by bowling at Helen Newman Hall on campus. Stephen didn’t hold back on the bowling and proceeded to win all three games. Although Stephanie hated losing, she had a good time and was excited when Stephen asked her out for a second date.

Before moving to Ridgefield, Connecticut, Stephanie and Stephen called Pennsylvania home for a few years. Although they had visited Hershey, PA several times while living nearby, they never took the time to visit Hershey Park and see the typical Hershey attractions. When they decided to head down to Hershey for an Imagine Dragons concert in 2018, Stephen convinced Stephanie that the time was right to experience all the quintessential Hershey things. They started the day at Chocolate World with a chocolate tasting class, followed by the Make Your Own Candy Bar experience. Unbeknownst to Stephanie, Stephen had been secretly coordinating a proposal with the staff at Chocolate World. The staff slipped a specially made chocolate bar into the bag without Stephanie seeing. When Stephen and Stephanie posed for a quick photo op, Stephen pulled out the specially made chocolate bar with a wrapper asking Stephanie to marry him. In shock, Stephanie realized Stephen was down on one knee with a ring in his hands. With all of the Chocolate World guests watching, as well as a giant Hershey’s Bar, Hershey’s Kiss, and Reese’s statue, Stephanie said yes!