Stephanie and Andrew chose the private farm of a family friend for their farm engagement session, which is perfectly appropriate since it is the same location where they will be married next year.
Stephanie and Andrew met playing pick-up hockey during lunch at Bowdoin College.
Andrew was talking to one of his friends when he noticed Steph sitting on the bench next to the ice. He was telling his friend about how he stopped playing hockey in high school because he didn’t like how physical the game was. He could feel a bit of judgement coming from Steph (who played varsity boys hockey through high school and then at the Varsity level at Bowdoin).
“We didn’t have a love-at-first-sight-across-a-crowded-room thing,” Stephanie said, “but it was sort of love-at-first-conversation. We just hit it off. I distinctly remember being so surprised at how easy it was to be with him. Even from the very beginning I felt like I’d known him forever.”
Stephanie was a year older and they met three months before she graduated. After graduation, Andrew flew down to Texas and joined her on a two-week Blues & BBQ road trip through The South.
Andrew had never been to Texas or The South before, and they spent two weeks in a car together driving around, even though they’d only known each other a few months.
“We had an amazing time.” Stephanie enthused. “I always thought that was telling. We’ve also done long-distance twice in our 5 years together – One year for Andrew’s Senior Year in college and two years later when he moved to New York six-months before me.”
“For our first date, I was going to take Steph to one of the nicer restaurants in the town near our college,” said Andrew. “However once we started making our way into town, Steph brought up that it was game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference finals, and asked if we could go to a sports bar instead. It was at that point I thought our relationship could be something special! So we went to a bar, ate pasta, watched hockey, and had a fantastic time.”
“I had totally forgotten about that!” laughed Stephanie. “That was the best first date, ever. We watched hockey and ate waaay to much pasta.”
Since hockey was such a big part of how they met, Andrew wanted to try and tie that in to the proposal.
He proposed the day after Steph’s birthday, which was also a Saturday.
“In the lead up I had told her that I had special birthday stuff planned.” said Andrew. “To start we got brunch at a place we like near our apartment in Brooklyn, and then that afternoon I took her ice skating in Central Park. I had the ring with me, and got nervous when I saw that people were being screened with a metal detector on the way in. But luckily I got through without issue and we had a good time skating. After that, I took Steph up onto the platform that overlooks the rink and Central Park South. She was really hesitant at first to be staying in the wind and cold, but stopped complaining immediately when I got down on one knee and proposed!”
“After the proposal, I had a reservation at a nice Portuguese restaurant downtown and by great fortune we ended up at the chef’s table for a delicious meal. We then went back to Brooklyn for a little surprise party I put together at our favorite neighborhood bar. It ended up being a really fantastic day with staking, good food, and being with the people we love.”
“Andrew’s proposal was perfect.” said Stephanie. “He managed to incorporate all of these elements that made it really special, and perfectly balanced. I really liked that he had planned this dinner for just the two of us after he proposed and before the suprise party. I was so shocked, and literally speechless, I needed that time alone with him to let it all sink in before being surrounded by friends & family. (Actually, the first person I told was our Uber driver, Muhammad haha) But then, after dinner it was so so so awesome to have all of our loved ones around us at our favorite neighborhood bar, where we’re friends with the owners. It was so warm and special and a memory I’ll always cherish. I agree – I can’t wait to recreate that for our wedding!”
Stephanie and Andrew love to cook together.
“Andrew definitely fulfills the male stereotype of the belly being the way to his heart!” says Stephanie. “But that works for me because I love to cook, so it’s fun to share that and have someone who appreciates good food as much as you do.”
The other thing they love to do together is travel.
“We travel together really well, and it’s cool to have that free time to pay attention to each other and also experience an adventure together. Even though our personalities are pretty different I think we are very aligned on core values, one of them being that we are pretty easy-going, low-drama people, so we don’t argue or fight or even disagree very much. We balance each other. It’s pretty awesome.”
When asked what Andrew was most looking forward to about the wedding he said, “What I’m most looking forward to is being able to get together with friends and family to celebrate. I feel like the party I put together after I proposed was a really great time together to be with happy people, and I’m looking forward to recreating that environment. As we’re planning we’re trying to focus on making it fun, relaxed and nice; and create an environment where everyone can just celebrate.”
Stephanie whole heartedly agrees, but also admits to being a little nervous about the big day.
“I’m not sure,” she says, “but I think I’m most nervous about being the center of attention. It tends to make me uncomfortable to think about all of those people looking at me and watching everything I do, but I can also imagine being too excited/full of adrenaline to really notice when it comes to the day. Also, it’s not like these people are strangers or judges. They’re people we love who love us!”
