Olivia and Joseph

On January 29th 2016, we took a chance on each other after matching on an app called Coffee Meets Bagel and bonded over a mutual love for Indian food and traveling. Coincidentally, Joe was headed to India for a couple of weeks the next day, so we agreed to reconnect when he returned. We met for the first time on February 16th at Minero, a quaint Mexican restaurant known for amazing burritos and margaritas on Charleston's East Bay Street. Olivia ordered La Estrellita (or “little star” in Spanish, a very feminine pink drink) only to discover that Joe’s margarita looked and tasted way better. Joe, being the confident gentleman that he is, offered up his margarita immediately in exchange for the little pink star drink, and a second date was guaranteed!

We met again a few days later for brunch and kayaking on Shem Creek, where we easily fell into conversation about our ambitions and future life goals. We ended up spending the whole day together because neither of us wanted the date to stop! Just a short four months later, we began what became a 13 month long distance relationship when Joe moved to Los Angeles for work. After many trips back and forth across the U.S. and two and a half years later, Olivia was taking a wintery walk through Cazenovia, NY with her lifelong friend, Maggie, when Joe surprised her on his knee with a ring. On November 20th, 2018, we got engaged!

Special thanks to Maggie Namy for capturing this moment for us to have in the many years to come!