They originally met at Camp Starlight in 2001 where they were more "acquaintances" than friends the next few summers. Then, 12 years after seeing each other last, in February 2015 they were both out for a day of drinking when some camp friends asked Alex if she remembered Justin to which she decided to go over and say hi. Justin felt they really hit it off, which was news to Alex (Houston Hall, you know how that goes) but Justin decided he would keep in touch. Justin was moving to Tampa, FL the next week but claims he couldn't stop thinking about Alex so would periodically check-in to see how she was doing just to keep himself on her radar. Later that year, in December 2015, Justin was to be the best man in a friend's wedding where he needed the perfect date. He couldn't resist asking Alex to be his plus-one after their encounter 10 months prior (he left out the best man part and that his parents would be there, but she can’t blame him for that). Alex insisted they go on a few dates first to see if anything clicked. A few dates and a couple weeks later, she ended up attending the New Year's Eve wedding with him. The rest is history...
Alex was going home to Long Island for a weekend with her sister and family and just planned to lay low. Justin felt compelled to get engaged in a place where everyone could celebrate with them shortly thereafter. Alex thought Justin was on a work trip but instead he was flying in to New York and setting up a surprise proposal at a local restaurant. When Alex and her family arrived at the restaurant that night, they were led to a table in the back in a private room where Justin had pictures of memories hanging from balloons. After he got down on one knee, their families had an amazing dinner together and they went back to Alex’s sisters to celebrate with friends for a night they wouldn’t forget.