Lower Manhattan, New York City: Michelle & Steve's Engagement

There are some times in your life, like when you’re embarking on a new adventure, that the universe gives you exactly what you need.  For Michelle, that time was when she was starting her very first job out of college.  It was shortly after graduation and she was launching into her brand new career head first, working in Boston for one of the most respected hotel chains in the world.  

That’s when she met Steve, the tall, handsome guy with a shy smile and a heart of gold.  He just happened to be beginning orientation as well and they clicked right away.  They discovered they had quite a bit in common: they had grown up relatively close to one another (she in Queens, he in New Jersey) and they even had a mutual friend - Steve’s closest friend from home had actually gone to college with Michelle where he was part of her group of friends as well.

It was an instant crush (on both ends, undoubtedly), but neither one was quick to act, so they stayed just friends for a while.  But when Michelle’s birthday rolled around and she mentioned to one of her friends that she was hoping that Steve would join them all for her birthday night out, her friend pushed her to admit that she clearly had feelings for Steve.  Of course, Steve felt very much the same way.  Their friendship transitioned into a relationship and pretty soon they were spending as much time together as possible.  It was all so easy, they understood each other, their friends liked one another and their families were each thrilled to see them so incredibly happy.   

That’s when life threw them a bit of a curve ball when Michelle was transferred for work - having to move from Boston to D.C.  It was a big opportunity but it also meant that she would be over 400 miles away from Steve.  But he encouraged her to go, to follow her dreams and they decided to try to maintain their relationship long distance.  Packing up in Boston and saying goodbye to Steve was one of the hardest things Michelle had to do and even her father teared up as he watched Steve and Michelle say goodbye that day.  

That kind of distance could have meant the end for a lot of couples.  Busy schedules meant they only saw each other about once a month and the travel time cut into time that they could have been together.  But they never questioned it.  If that was what they had to do to be together, it was what they were going to do. During that time, Michelle realized that Steve was the one when she spent almost the entire time during one of his visits dreading the day he would finally have to go back home.  It was then she realized that she could never a life without Steve in it. 

Thankfully, she won’t have to.  After two and a half years living in different cities, they finally both ended up in Manhattan.  It wasn’t long after that that Steve whisked Michelle away to tropical paradise in Nevis and asked her to be his wife.  Of course she said yes, with tons of tears and so much excitement.  

This October, Michelle and Steve will gather together their family and friends and tie the knot in one of her favorite places on earth - Montauk.  There's no doubt the day with be filled with tons of laughter, lots of love and maybe more than a few tears - maybe even from her father who just might tear up once again as he walks his little girl down the aisle to the man that he could tell she was destined to be with since the day he watched them say goodbye in Boston.