We're getting married!

"Hey, you have a really nice voice. I'm Justin. Nice to meet you!" And that's how it all started, voice class at Montclair State University in 2015. Dana's first thought was "He seems like someone I could introduce to my parents." But if you ask Justin, he’d say something more like "Oh, she hated me!" That spring semester at MSU, Justin and Dana were voice class friends, but nothing more. They grabbed food at Einstein’s Bagels a few times, hung out in Freeman Hall once, and talked about nerdy music stuff. They even sang a duet in voice class as their final assignment. Dana had just gone through a break up and had no interest in being in any kind of relationship. At the end of the semester, Justin asked if he could take Dana out to what she thought was a date. Justin wanted to be nice since Dana was going through a rough time. He wore a suit, treated her to dinner, and brought her to Eagle Rock Reservation after to watch the sunset. That "date" scared Dana and she avoided Justin for the rest of the school year and throughout the summer. After fall rolled around and the school year started back up, Dana was registered for both Campus Band and Percussion Methods. Textbooks and other instrument rentals cost a lot, so she decided to text Justin. It essentially went something like, “Hey… I know I haven’t talked to you in forever, but… Can I borrow your drum pad, drum sticks, mallets, and whatever else I need for band and percussion methods? Hope you had a nice summer!” Justin, being the nice guy he is, said yes. From there, Justin and Dana got pretty close. They’d meet up late after classes ended to exchange the percussion equipment. Sometimes they took walks, sometimes they would sit and talk for a while. Finally on November 22nd, 2015 (11/22), the two came together and decided to try being more than friends. Seven years, three schools, two homes shared, and one crazy dog later, Justin and Dana are finally getting married!

Justin waited a while before he proposed to Dana. They both agreed they wanted to have a stable job, reliable income, and a settled lifestyle together before they added the big step of planning a wedding to their busy lives. August 25, 2022, Dana and Justin went to Montclair to walk around the area. First they walked the MSU campus, where they first met. Then, they planned on going out to dinner after at Calandra’s, where they first had the “date” in May 2015, to watch Justin’s friend perform. After walking around campus, they decided to stop at Eagle Rock Reservation and walk around there a little bit to kill some time before dinner. Justin kept getting texts about marching band and Dana was getting suspicious. She looked around but didn’t see any cars or people she recognized. After clearly procrastinating and waiting for something, Justin said “I have to get something I found for you in my car”. He came back with a plaque and a ring box, and got down on one knee. He seemed nervous and still preoccupied with something going on around him. “Will you marry me?” he asked. “Yes!” Dana replied as the tears started to form in her eyes. Just then, Dana’s cousin popped out from behind them with his camera. “I KNEW IT!” Dana exclaimed. She gave him a hug and they admired the ring. “So actually, we aren’t going to Calandra’s”, Justin started. “I got us reservations for two at the High Lawn Pavilion.” The High Lawn Pavilion was a beautiful restaurant that overlooked the city. It was a night to celebrate. As they made their way into the restaurant, Dana’s cousin said bye to them and headed off in the opposite direction. “Table for 2 for Kemp”, Justin told the host. Dana and Justin headed down the stairs of the restaurant and opened the door. Just then, both families shouted “SURPRISE!” and flooded Dana and Justin with love. Now THIS was the big surprise. Dana had an idea about the actual proposal, but this was a complete shock. The tears streamed down her face as she tried to process everything. What Dana didn’t know is Justin has been planning this since early spring. He not only planned this out with their families, but he also had a friend take her to get her nails done, cancelled her piano lessons for her by texting the students’ mom, pretended dog agility class was cancelled and got the whole class in on it, had a friend take care of the dog for the evening, and more. AND, he even surprised her a second time the day after by having a surprise engagement celebration with their friends. Well done, Justin. It was a night she will remember forever.