It all began in the Fall of 2007 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We met during Welcome Week at the University of Michigan our freshman year of college before classes began. We quickly realized that Michelle grew up with Jason's first cousin, Hallie (they were very close friends as kids). We lived in the same dorm, Mary Markley Hall, and often found ourselves at the same social events. Jason's crush on Michelle started in those early college days, but all he had the courage to do at that point in time was to send flirtatious Facebook messages. Michelle was naïve to his crush...

Fast forward to junior year when our friendship grew stronger, as we sat next to each other in many of our business school classes. We used that time wisely - playing Family Feud on Jason's computer, rather than focusing on all of the knowledge our professors were trying to impart on us. We didn't recognize it at the time, but we felt giddy and comfortable around each other, a feeling that would quickly return... 13 years later.

Our friendship continued through senior year, but we slowly lost touch after graduating from school in 2011. We continued to think highly of each other and hoped the other was happy (and of course Michelle continued to wish Jason happy birthdays on Facebook).

Over a decade later, Jason had the brilliant idea to rekindle our friendship, so he did what any true Millennial would do... slide into Michelle's DMs with a fire emoji. They quickly got to chatting, catching up on lost time and discussing plans to get together in the summer of 2023.

On June 28, 2023, we met at Shinji's cocktail bar in New York City while Jason was visiting from San Francisco, and it felt like no time had passed. While this get-together wasn't intended to be a date, we couldn't help but realize that there was potential for a special connection between the two of us. We ended up walking to ABC Cocina for dinner, and we both left excited to see each other again soon.

As the summer progressed, we continued to get together during Jason's visits to NYC, and it became clear that we were developing a deeper relationship. In late Fall, we met in Scottsdale for a long weekend, and that's when we both realized that we had found "the one."

Jason moved to NYC in December 2023, and while we didn't initially live together, we found ourselves together every day, going on dates, dancing around our apartments, playing games (Michelle's favorite), and just enjoying each other's company. We officially moved in together in April (of course with Michelle's dog, Pixie), and continued to fall more and more in love with each other every day.

On August 24th, Jason took Michelle on a romantic walk down Pier 26, one of her favorite places in the city. Before they could get to the end of the pier, Jason put his arms around Michelle with a big smile on his face and whispered in her ear, "You know what's happening, don't you?" (And yes, she absolutely knew - she was wearing a white dress with a fresh manicure, after all.) Jason got down on his knee, Michelle bawled her eyes out, and Parish (the photographer) snapped away on his camera. We came back to our apartment, and both of our families were there ready to celebrate with us!

Now the fun continues, as we get ready to celebrate our love and plan the wedding of our dreams!