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Denis and Michelle met while traveling in 2019. At the time, she was living in her hometown of New York City and he was living in Chicago. A chance encounter led to a conversation, which eventually turned into a promise to meet again. On May 28th, 2019, the long distance relationship officially began in Virginia Beach and as the couple learned more about each other, they also became experts at navigating the O’Hare and LaGuardia airports. As their frequent flier miles grew, so did their anticipation to close the distance between them. Denis was finally welcomed to New York in July of 2020, leaving behind his beloved Chicago for the Big Apple. Moving during a global pandemic proved interesting, and the couple learned how to love and enjoy each other’s company within the confines of a Brooklyn apartment, an element of their relationship they both value as they build their life together. Fast forwarding through countless late night binge watches, Animal Crossing turnip transactions, and take out sushi runs - the next chapter brings us to May of 2021. Denis had started a new job at Sharebite, a restaurant technology company, and Michelle was beginning her career as an elementary school teacher in Queens. Fate would have it that their 2 year dating anniversary would fall on the long Memorial Day weekend. When Denis said he had a “surprise” planned, Michelle was expecting a nice dinner in the city, or maybe a day trip around the area. Instead, to her surprise, she was whisked away to the white sand beaches and crystal clear waters of Curaçao. Then, on May 30th, 2021, two years and two days after officially beginning their relationship, Michelle said “yes” again and they were engaged. As you can see across this website, Denis was able to organize a photographer to capture the surprise engagement. A few months later, in November of 2021, Michelle had a surprise of her own and took Denis to Iceland for his 30th birthday. There, the couple was able to take another round of engagement photos, this time in the Northern Hemisphere (and wearing much different attire.) Like many great adventures, there is no telling where their story will lead, but Denis and Michelle are honored for you to be a part of it!