HOW THEY MET
Brielle was visiting a friend who used to go to school at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She was waiting outside of the school when she noticed a guy on the phone across the street and he was looking at Brielle. They kept making eye contact and he was smiling at her. She was just playing on her phone waiting for her friend to arrive, and when she hung up the phone, he walked right up to her, told her he thought she was really pretty and asked for her number.
THEIR FIRST DATE
Since Michael worked in NYC and Brielle worked in Red Bank, NJ they originally scheduled their first date near Toms River because Brielle thought he was coming from near LBI where his dad has a condo. She found out while she was texting him that he actually was coming from NYC. Brielle felt bad that he would have to make such a far drive on a Friday in June, so she asked to change the location to somewhere near Red Bank. After agreeing on a date spot in Red Bank, she left work to go to her car and realized it was warmer than usual outside, so she asked to move the location of the date a second time so that she could go home and change. She thought he was going to cancel altogether because she kept changing her mind!
Michael ended up making a reservation at the Armory in Perth Amboy! They were there for more than four hours as they talked on and on (later Michael told Brielle that after 30 minutes into their first date, he knew she was a keeper, especially when she mentioned that she loved Broadway). This wasn’t funny at the time, but after the date, she asked for his phone and put her real phone number in (she had given him a fake phone number from an app she used just in case he was a stalker) LOL!!
Michael and Brielle love travel and going out to dinner, taking their dog to the park, enjoying time in NYC, watching movies and cooking together. Michael randomly will ask Brielle to go shopping to Target where they can spend an hour or so just browsing! They are truly best friends!
HOW HE PROPOSED
Earlier in the day, Michael woke Brielle up early and asked her if she would like to go shopping (and if you know Michael, he hates when Brielle asks him to go shopping with her). They went to the Garden State Plaza and Michael took Brielle to some of her favorite stores and helped her pick out a dress for what he said was a “just because”. When they returned home Brielle took a nap. He woke her up and asked her to get ready, that they were going out to dinner. She had a feeling by then that something was going on, because with the shopping and the making sure she had the perfect outfit, it was sketchy to say the least.
Brielle got ready and soon they were on their way to an undisclosed location, and she was looking at her phone when she realized her entire family had their locations turned off. She thought it appeared strange but did not give much thought to it. He took her to the Armory in Perth Amboy where they had their first date. Michael took Brielle by the hand and walked her out on the dock and that is the moment Brielle knew what was next! At that moment it was a blur when Michael reached in his pocket and pulled out the ring box and proceeded to ask Brielle to marry him! Of course she said yes! All of the sudden her sister popped out from behind her with a disguise on! They left there and went to their favorite italian restaurant called Casa Guiseppe in Iselin. When she was escorted to the back room, she was surprised by her whole family! what a special evening it was!!
When I asked Brielle and Michael where they would like to have their engagement session, they both knew that NYC was the right place. Their love for the city was something that meant so much to them!
Congratulations Michael and Brielle! We cannot wait to celebrate your wedding next year!
