It has been said that “London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful.” And while “other places may give you a sweet and soothing sense of level … in New York there is always the feeling of ‘Something’s going to happen.’” These words proved true in December 2018, when Jennifer and Shawn met for the very first time. Sure, when one attends a bar crawl (especially one like the incomparable, SantaCon), meeting the person you will spend the rest of your life with is rarely top-of-mind. But while Jennifer and Shawn spent their respective mornings that fateful day donning “ugly” Christmas sweaters and commuting into the city, what awaited them would turn out the best gift Shawn could ever ask for. In a loud, overcrowded bar in the heart of the East Village, Shawn walked directly up to Jennifer, overly confident as ever, and attempted to make small talk. Jennifer, always gracious and kind to everyone she meets, proceeded to give him a chance—at least for a few moments. Of course, since Shawn is so hilarious, it was difficult, nay nearly impossible—some have said—for Jennifer to disregard his valiant effort to make her smile. Before long, the two found themselves spending the entire day together, barhopping and exchanging stories about their lives, families and friends. Shawn knew how lucky he was to spend the day with someone like Jennifer, so he didn’t want to waste a moment apart. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the sun had set, and Jennifer and Shawn went their separate ways, hoping one day their paths would soon cross again. However, as life so often is, it wasn’t that easy. Jennifer, then a graduating senior at the University of Delaware, returned to her college campus several states away from Shawn, who, at the time, was a recent college graduate preparing for law school. While the two understood how special the time they spent together had been, the realities of life made it difficult to envision a future where they could be together again. Soon, weeks and months passed, and it appeared that their December day together at One and One would be a “one-of-one.” Not so fast! Many months later, Shawn leapt into action: “Delaware isn’t that far, right?” “I think I’ve been to Delaware before.” “Siri, Google, ‘how far is Delaware from NYC?’” “Wait, Siri, don’t do that! She’s not even from Delaware! She’s only a student there.” After spending weeks contemplating what he would say, Shawn came up with the perfect plan. That’s right—after not having spoken for several months, Shawn thought he would send Jennifer a message so romantic, so charming, that she would be unable to resist going on a date with him. He had spent so much time and brainpower up to this moment, thinking of the right thing to say, and he finally came up with words: “So, when are you coming back to New York to see me?” OK, so he’s no Shakespeare. But, for some reason—which confuses Shawn to this very day—Jennifer decided to give him a second chance. Soon, Jennifer and Shawn went on their first official date. Fast forward to today, Jennifer and Shawn are building a life together in Hoboken. What came from that dinner at MAMO restaurant in SoHo has led to years of unconditional love, laughter, travel, challenges, accomplishments and more. It has been the greatest honor of Shawn’s life thus far to spend the past few years with the woman of his dreams, and he prays each day that there will be many, many more to come. Luckily, to Shawn’s surprise, Jennifer reminds Shawn each day how happy he makes her, and that’s something he plans to do for the rest of his life.