Valerie and Michael met at a music festival at Centennial Olympic Park in May of 2016 through their mutual friend, Mackenzie Weber. Little did they know that this encounter would become the first chapter of an amazing journey together. Over the next few months, Valerie and Michael continued to get to know each other. Come August, after watching the opening ceremony for the Olympics, Michael worked up the nerve to ask Valerie on a date. Their first date was at Wrecking Bar, the chemistry was immediate and the conversation was effortless. Since that day, their bond continues to grow stronger through a shared love of trying new food, seeing live music, and travelling.

The story of our proposal begins when Michael went ring shopping and couldn't find Valerie's record on file. After reaching out to her friends and mother, Inna, he picked out a ring, but still didn't know Valerie's ring size. Michael agreed to let Ilana ask Valerie for her ring size, completely ruining any chance at a surprise engagement...so she thought. With the ring in hand, Michael met with Valerie’s father, Stas, to ask for his blessing. Michael and Stas agreed to plan a dinner, where Michael could catch Valerie off guard with a surprise engagement surrounded by the most important people in her life. Inna called Valerie to make plans and Michael "reluctantly" agreed to get dinner with Valerie's parents the night before heading off to celebrate the holidays in Cincinnati and New York. The four of us had an amazing dinner at Cape Dutch. Dessert arrived, and after many many wonderful toasts, Michael had one last toast for the night and as they say, the rest is history! After Valerie stopped crying, she did finally say Yes. We are so excited to start this new chapter of our lives and can’t wait to celebrate with all of you. Your love and support mean so much to us, L’chaim!