Our first date was on January 10th, 2014 at Middle Branch, a speakeasy located in Murray Hill. We were originally planned to meet a week earlier, but it had to be postponed due to a snow storm (go figure!). Courtney had pre-written a list of conversation topics in case there was a lull in the conversation- but she never actually had to use it.
In November of 2014, we took our first trip together to Punta Cana. This trip started the first among many "Courtney's Birthday Vacation." Andrew contacted the pilot and had him wish Courtney sitting in seat 22B a very happy birthday on the flight down! Clearly the hotel was confused about the occasion, as we were welcomed with a “Congratulations on your Marriage” banner on our room door. (And on our trip one year later to Cancun, our room door said “Happy Anniversary”- totally a coincidence).
Some people call us sushi snobs. We prefer to think of it as liking really good sushi. After rejecting Andrew's requests to take her out to dinner, Courtney finally agreed and introduced him to her favorite sushi place only three blocks from her apartment, Sushi Seki. His life has never been the same since! It’s impossible to count the amount of times we’ve been there as it has become the best date night restaurant, a perfect late night spot and a delicious carry out meal. Make sure you try our favorites- spicy scallop hand roll, tuna with tofu sauce and chopped eel with avocado. If you ever visit the UES location - feel free to drop our names for special treatment.
Way before we met, Andrew started the tradition of spending his July birthday at the Frying Pan, located on the lower west side of Manhattan. Each year, he invites friends and friends of friends to ensure the maximum amount of fun (as he would say). As it’s almost guaranteed to be a hot day, it’s great to grab a table in the shade, get some food and enjoy pitchers of sangria and buckets of beer.
For Courtney's 25th birthday, Andrew surprised her with a trip to Nashville for New Year's Eve. During her birthday dinner, Andrew placed 4 sealed envelopes on the table, and then asked Courtney to pick any place in the US she wanted to spend New Years, and without hesitation, she said "Nashville!" He picked up an envelope and handed her pre-booked tickets and a hotel itinerary for Nashville, as he was 99% confident that would be her response. Courtney later peeked in the other envelopes and saw that they had pieces of paper with the words "please pick another city" written on them.
In November of 2016, we traveled the California coast. The trip began in San Francisco, where we visited Courtney's cousin, Carly, for a couple of days. Despite Andrew having to take his shoes off in her apartment, we loved San Francisco and cannot wait to go back. The trip continued to Napa, Monterrey and down to LA. This trip was filled with lots of exciting adventures, such as visiting the infamous Full House, spotting the Golden Gate Bridge, wine tasting in Napa, stopping in Big Sur, shopping in Westwood, and the WB tour in LA.
For those who don’t know, Andrew has lived in many different cities since the start of our relationship. While trips to Greensboro, Williamsburg and Patchogue were fun, our favorite destination was his most recent campaign in San Diego. Courtney visited numerous times and we loved the beautiful views, challenging hikes, outdoor concerts and the spectacular food!
On February 13th, 2018, Andrew asked Courtney to marry him at The Rink at Rockefeller Center. Unknowingly to Courtney, Andrew had made all of the arrangements prior to the day. We started off by entering through a VIP entrance, and skated around the rink for about 30 minutes. After an announcement over the loud speaker had asked everyone to exit the rink, Andrew continued to skate, eventually pulling Courtney into the center. Our song, "Can't take my eyes off of you," by Frankie Valli, started playing on the loud speaker and Andrew got down on one knee and asked Courtney to be his wife. Following a champagne toast, we made our way over to Avra Madison to celebrate with both of our families who had flown in for the engagement.
On August 24th, 2019, we will be getting married at The Pierre, a beautiful hotel on Fifth Avenue, directly across the street from Central Park. We are extremely excited to share this special day with our family and friends. Stay tuned for more details and events regarding our wonderful wedding weekend!