Janelle and Frank met while enrolled at Drew University, less than two miles down the road from where they'll be getting married. Janelle was a freshman and Frank was a sophomore, but they were both Political Science majors and "Senators" in Student Government, so their paths crossed a few times, and they had many mutual friends. However, they didn't really get to know each other until they ran on opposing tickets in the spring Student Government presidential/vice presidential election. Janelle and Frank shared the stage (against each other) in several debates, attended *very* dramatic midnight regulatory hearings and knocked on doors across campus to encourage voter turnout. These experiences exposed their similar personalities and sparked their initial attraction (both thought the other was very cute and very smart!), but they kept things professional and admired only from afar. After they each eventually confessed their crushes to the same mutual friend Jon (who thankfully spilled the beans!), Frank asked Janelle to grab a bite to eat with him at their college "Snack Bar" after the next Student Government meeting (talk about romantic). The conversation was effortless, the connection was obvious, and they were pretty much inseparable for the rest of the semester. Some of their early "dates" included attending an on-campus speech by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; participating in Drew's holiest holiday, "Sloppy Saturday;" taking nighttime walks around campus; and many, many wine & movie nights -- a sacred weekly staple in their household to this day. As the saying goes, "when you know, you know," and they both definitely knew. Janelle and Frank share 12 years of fond, core memories of their college days and beyond. They have grown with each other and shared so many milestones, including graduating from Drew, Janelle's first job and apartment, Frank's law school graduation, moving to Hoboken together and adopting their beloved dog Teddy. They are so thrilled to begin this next phase of life together -- marriage!

One Saturday night in December 2020, Janelle asked Frank, "are you going to propose tomorrow?" "Nope," he responded. The next morning, Janelle spontaneously booked a brunch reservation at Sirenetta, a restaurant on the main street in Hoboken, close to the waterfront (hey, he said he wasn't proposing and they didn't have any other plans that day!). Immediately after making the plan, Janelle noticed that Frank started acting weird. He put on a pair of very nice shoes (not practical for the weather that day) and outfit, and put moisturizer on his face for the first time in Janelle's memory. Sensing that today could be "the day," but feeling unprepared and pressed for time (no time to wash her well-overdue hair), Janelle took these cues and put on a little extra makeup than she had originally been planning. They spent most of brunch in complete silence, both texting under the table and completely on edge. Unbeknownst to Janelle, Frank had -- just that morning -- told his brother Brandon and best friend Justin that he was going to propose that day, and had asked them to come to the waterfront to take photos. However, Justin was visiting family over an hour away from Hoboken. Frank had to stall. He mentioned that he didn't like the drink he was served at the restaurant, yet he ordered 2 more. He also enthusiastically insisted that they order dessert and coffee before the meal was over. After brunch, they walked through a tiny Christmas shop adjacent to the restaurant, where Frank pretended to be extremely interested in contemplating the various cookie and dessert options for sale. Frank then suggested they go for a walk down the waterfront, where he pretended to have something stuck in his shoe so he could stop and readjust it several times. He also led Janelle down an entire pier simply because they had "never walked down this pier before" only to turn around at the end and say, "ok, we've seen it." Finally, they walked down a stretch of the path and stopped to admire the "breaching fish" Frank was trying to call Janelle's attention to. Once he knew his "photographers" were ready, he got down on one knee and popped the question. Cheers rang out, champagne was poured, and everyone went down to Grand Vin (Janelle and Frank's favorite Hoboken restaurant) to continue the celebration.