14201 SW 248th St, Redland, FL 33032 at half past four in the afternoon

Strangely, some of the most pivotal moments of both Bruce and Shannan's life revolved around Quadball, a unisex full contact sport inspired by the generationally beloved Harry Potter series. Bruce played on the same club team as a former college teammate of Shannan's and it was that same mutual friend that ended up giving Bruce Shannan's contact info. Strangely (again), they were both heading to The Bahamas for the Christmas of 2017 - Shannan to go visit her family after a few months living in Boston and Bruce with his family for their second year of "Christmas Somewhere Warm." It was that Christmas Eve, when they both happened to be on the same small island in the Caribbean as if fate had been circling them for awhile now, that Bruce reached out for the first time to meet up. Shannan politely declined due to family obligations, but promised to meet up with him once they were back in Boston, MA. In Boston, Shannan was throwing a New Year's Eve party at her place and she invited Bruce to swing by since they had been texting over the last few days. Bruce was held up by both a work shift and car issues, but miraculously at 2AM on January 1, 2018 he walked through Shannan's apartment door with a bottle of Fernet. They didn't leave each other's side for two days. A month and a half later, on February 12th, 2018, Bruce told Shannan that she was his girlfriend and she laughed and told him that she had already been telling people that he was her boyfriend. And if you have ever asked Bruce, he will tell you he knew that first night that Shannan was the one.

Bruce wanted to propose to Shannan well before it actually happened, but Shannan had a few expectations before she said “Yes,” including her preference that they were together for at least 5 years before Bruce proposed. As they approached their 5th anniversary, Bruce made one thing clear to Shannan about the impending proposal: “You don’t have to get ready if you stay ready.” Included in that communication was a set of gifts themed around one of her other expectations for the proposal: her nails being done. Bruce had imagined 1000 different ways to propose to Shannan over the years, ranging from absurdly expensive (renting out a restaurant) to something she’d hate (jumbotron at a Yankees game). It wasn’t until Sarah, Shannan's close friend, visited the couple that the real plan formed. The girls were planning a trip to New York for Gini’s (Shannan's other close friend) graduation, but the couple were convinced Bruce wouldn’t be able to make it due to work. However, Bruce & Sarah realized that this trip would be an incredible opportunity to propose without Shannan expecting a thing. Bruce had a lot of people to get permission from. First, his boss – who eagerly agreed when Bruce told her what was going to be happening – and then Gini, because Bruce didn’t want to take attention away from her if she wasn’t okay with it. Next were the two most intimidating permissions to get: Shannan’s Dad and her cousin, Abby. Both expected what the call was about and were more than happy to give their blessing. Less intimidating, but no less important, were Shannan’s Mom and Brother. Bruce didn't ask Shannan’s Sister because she was already engrossed in the plan and the first person to see the ring. NYC has a million spots for proposals and at least 10,000 with some significance to the groom. Luckily for Shannan, the Yankees were out of town. Bruce had strong feelings about one spot, but Shannan’s friends talked him out of that since it wouldn’t be ideal for a proposal. Finally, Bruce landed on a plan that couldn’t be thwarted by things like reservations or dim lights: they would walk to Battery Park — where Shannan & Bruce had visited on a prior trip — and do the proposal with the Statue of Liberty in the background - a perfect excuse for taking pictures. The Perfect Plan. Bruce’s anxiety was through the roof about anything spoiling the surprise — like his mom slipping during dinner and saying something about “after this week she will be” in regard to Shannan being her daughter-in-law. To Bruce, it was so obvious what was happening. Especially on the day of, when the group were off to a later start than expected: now it didn’t make sense to go all the way to Battery Park. Fine, again, Bruce will pivot. The group decided to walk over to St. Marks Place and that’s where the idea stuck the groom: Thompkins Square Park. Shannan insisted on stopping for cannoli on the way and they all sat in the nearby park to eat. Once Gini arrived to meet them, the group started to walk around the park and Bruce realized that because this was a last minute pivot, he didn’t have a spot planned out and there were no big points of interest for pictures. The plan had gone well off the rails as the group started to circle the park for a second time while Bruce was trying to find the perfect place. Finally, while the couple were trailing behind the group, Bruce realized it’s going to get suspicious if they started to circle this park a third time. He decided it was time to do it where they were. To make sure the group knew it was happening, Bruce started to tell Shannan some of the things he really loved about her very loudly so they could hear him. Once Bruce knew they were aware, it was time to get down on one knee. Thankfully Shannan didn’t keep Bruce in too much suspense, but Bruce did end up forgetting to put the ring on her finger before getting up to kiss her. Shannan was totally surprised, but thankfully her nails were painted a lovely, blushing pink.