The frabjous day is upon us

Our love story begins at work, where all good inappropriate behavior lawsuits start. James shared an office with his manager at the time, who Tatyana was friends with. Tatyana would stop by to chat, and the two started up a small rapport. Their friendship really took off when Tatyana had to train James on a client that he was coming on to. Unbeknownst to Tatyana, James would find just about any reason for Tatyana to come by and train him on this client. The two got closer and closer, taking the leap from office IMs to snapchat DMs. This brings us to 2017, the summer of love. Emotions built up over the summer, culminating in a drunken make out after an office happy hour. From there the two were inseparable, closing down Tracks bar almost every night, with impromptu sleepovers at James' house. Their first official date was the day after the NES gala, but they weren't official until the Kellen Office Holiday Party. At the happy hour following the office party, there was an alleged makeout session under the mistletoe, and the whole world knew our main characters were together. Fast-forward 4 years; the two left home and moved to Brooklyn (Tatyana) and Harlem (James), and it's time to move in together. Tatyana took charge and found their beautiful apartment on the Upper West Side (where they will never leave!) Now they were true Manhattanites - strolls through Central Park, trying each and every restaurant nearby and going home to Long Island to buy cheap groceries (and see family.) There was only one thing missing - a ring.

That leads us to Ibiza for James' cousin Hanna's birthday party. While floating in the pool in their Airbnb, they had 'the talk' and agreed they were ready for the next step. That starts the best part of the story, the engagement. Before we get to it, it's important to know that there is one thing Tatyana hates, and its surprises. The anticipation of knowing there's a surprise coming will drive her crazy and eat her up inside. Planning her birthday is already hard enough, but this, this would be impossible. The proposal is broken down into three parts; permission, ring and location (location, location.) Tatyana had a work trip where she’d be out of town for a few days, so James arranged to stop in and see Angela and grandma under the guise of dropping off some special honey from Colorado (which they both love.) Once there, he asked, they said yes, and everyone shared some tears. Thankfully, they also were completely caught off guard that this conversation was taking place, so it bode well for future surprises. James arranged for he, Angela and Genie to go ring shopping in the coming weeks. The second step of the proposal came with an assist from Brandon Brito. Brito texted James to get together and watch football so James could sneak away and meet up with Angela and Genie to ring shop. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to find a place in the city that would allow walk ins. They decided to try their luck someone else, and ventured back to Long Island to go to Roosevelt Field Mall. They struck out again, and as they were leaving, decided to pop their head into one more store. Two hours later, a diamond was ordered and they were booked to come back a few weeks later. At this point in the story, Tatyana doesn’t know what’s happening at all. James gave no updates, no inkling, they had no conversations. For all she knew, the proposal was postponed until 2024. Sorry Tatyana. The trio gathered again and put the finishing touches on the ring, placed the order, and the stage was set. Now, to find that stage. Their anniversary is on 11/11, and 2022 marked their 5 year anniversary. A few days prior, James took off of work to play the new god of war (at least, that’s what Tatyana knew) as she prepped for a big client gala. When she was at work, James roamed around Central Park trying to find the perfect spot. He called Jenn, who helped find the perfect spot, right in front of bow bridge. James then arranged for Asha, Brito, and Brito’s fiancée Nicole to help stage the area, and Angie Jaramillo to come be their photographer to capture the moment. The stage has been set. The day of: their day started with lunch at Tavern on the Green, recreating one of their first dates. After that there was a stroll through the park to ‘see a new spot’ that James had found with stunning views. The bridge was packed, but the two were able to grab a cute selfie. Now, Tatyana was cold, and it was time to go home. So they walked along the bridge, and James started to talk to Tatyana about getting married. “We haven’t talked about getting married in a while, I should probably update you on where I am. I don’t know if you know, but I talked to your mom and she said yes!” James said. They’re walking towards the end of the bridge, and a musician is playing ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon on acoustic guitar. “The next question I had was asking our moms to join us in getting a ring, and they both said yes. We found the perfect one.” The two are now closer to the small dock where the sign is set up. If you listen closely, you can hear this next part on their proposal video. “There’s just one more question that I have left to ask you,” and as James got down on one knee, he asked the magical question “Will you marry me?” Or, he thinks he did. He kind of blacked out, Tatyana certainly blacked out as she burst into tears, and dozens of passerbys in Central Park erupted into applause as they embraced. They were engaged, in a beautiful Upper West Side love story.