We met how a lot of people did at the beginning of the pandemic, on an app. We went on our first date, which ended when we realized we were the only ones left in the restaurant and we had been talking for hours. We both knew quickly that we had each met someone special. Our tendency to lose track of time and shut down a restaurant or bar on date night never went away, as we still regularly find ourselves arriving at crowded venues, and leaving them empty.

If you know Amanda, she likes to be in the know. Therefore she is almost impossible to surprise. I knew she would love to get engaged on a specific beach in Peconic, NY that is very special to us. In order to get her there, and have her dress how she normally wouldn’t on a beach, I had to go to insane lengths. This was a particularly difficult task, to keep the person I tell all of my secrets to completely out of the loop. One thing I did to make sure Amanda stayed unsuspecting while I put everything in place, was to get our vacation rental’s owner in on the secret. I made fake tickets and an invitation to a designer fashion show, which the owner of the home left for us with a note. Soon after arriving at the beach, I popped the question. After taking a few seconds to realize what was happening, she said yes, and the end result is plastered all over this website!