Tyler and Aria first met back in 2012 when they both worked at a little place called Mara's Cafe & Bakery, though neither one of them were interested in each other at the time. One summer night a few years after they stopped working together, Tyler messaged Aria and asked her to hang out. She said yes, got thoroughly led on, and then he ghosted her (classic hero move). After a few years of going down different paths (with 1 or 2 bad decisions along the way), in 2019 they reconnected and met up for pizza to make amends. They stayed in touch and unexpectedly fell for each other, soon realizing their story wasn't finished. Who knew a few wrong turns could lead to the right destination?

Aria's parents had gotten married at The Frelinghuysen Arboretum and had been photographed by the Daily Record sitting on a bench at the arboretum 6 months after their wedding. Tyler knew Aria loved that picture so he had gone to the arboretum months before without Aria knowing and with the help of Aria's mom, they had tracked down the exact bench her parents were sitting on in the newspaper article. Fast forward to the weekend before Aria's birthday in 2024. Aria was planning on having her mom over to celebrate. Aria's mom was adamant about coming the weekend after her birthday so Aria had a feeling the proposal was coming within the next couple of weeks. The day of the proposal, Aria and Tyler had gone out to breakfast at a diner and had the rest of the day free besides Aria's birthday dinner that night, or so Aria thought. It was a beautiful summer day so Aria suggested going kayaking and hanging out on the beach at their favorite spot, Estling Lake, but Tyler had oddly turned that down. Tyler then said mini golfing or getting Aria’s nails done to which Aria foolishly said no because she didn’t want Tyler to spend money on her since they were already going out to dinner that night. Aria and Tyler were on the hunt for a new bed frame so Aria had then suggested going window shopping at Ikea since they had a few hours to kill. Tyler took her up on that offer so they made their way to Ikea. What they didn’t realize is that Ikea feels like a playground when you’re a kid but as an adult it feels like a sensory overload simulator. Aria still kicks herself for suggesting that even though they of course had fun together. After an exhausting few hours at Ikea, Aria and Tyler took naps and then got ready for her birthday dinner. Tyler had said he wanted to go to a park beforehand to take pictures (which was strange) so without Aria knowing where they were going, Tyler drove them to The Frelinghuysen Arboretum. Tyler had propped his phone up to take pictures of them, got down on one knee in front of the bench her parents sat on years before, and asked Aria to marry him. After she said yes, they walked around the arboretum, went out to dinner, and then headed to Estling Lake where they lit off fireworks at the beach to celebrate.