Alexandra and Michael may have first crossed paths in 2012 during Michael’s graduation from Boston College while Alexandra was on campus for her sister’s graduation. Or maybe at some point during the summer of 2014 when Alexandra was an undergraduate research intern at AMNH, where Michael worked. Or in 2015 when she came back as a summer intern. Or sometime between 2016 and 2019 while Alexandra was working on her PhD at the museum’s graduate school.

What they do know for certain is that the first time they became aware of one another was at the annual Paleontology holiday party in December 2019, when they spotted each other across the crowded room as Michael pumped the keg. But since Michael called it an early night and Alexandra definitely did not, they remained in each other’s minds as “the cute little round girl” and “possibly the most attractive man in here.”

As luck would have it, their paths would cross again a week later at the Exhibitions holiday party when Alexandra convinced herself not to redo her makeup after the gym because “it’s not like she’s gonna find her husband at a work party.” All it took was an introduction by a mutual friend (Thanks, Joe!) and an icebreaker about milkshake flavors and they spent the rest of the night talking, finally parting ways so Alexandra could go get garlic knots (alone, she stressed).

Over the holidays, they scheduled a date on New Year’s Day. When Michael reached out to confirm the day of, a very sleep-deprived Alexandra almost canceled, but decided to reschedule, after her sister mentioned that she almost canceled on her boyfriend (now husband) and was so glad she didn’t because “you never know if he’ll be the one.”

On January 4th, after waiting 20 minutes for Michael, who was late for his first and last time to anything, Alexandra stated “I’m only having three glasses of wine tonight, and I’ve already had one.” Three glasses of wine and three hours of non-stop conversation later, after Michael flicked a cockroach off the wall next to her head (*swoon*), Alexandra agreed to accompany him for a fourth glass of wine. That night started Michael and Alexandra down a path of countless adventures including one trip to the emergency room at the start of the pandemic for a potential heart attack that turned out just to be intercostal muscle spasms, countless walks across a deserted city between Chelsea and the Upper East Side, a successful doctoral defense, three marathons, and moving in together. In November 2021, they adopted the love of both of their lives, Rosie, and they have lived as a happy little family on the Upper West Side ever since.

On August 2, 2023 Michael asked Alexandra to be his wife with a very beautiful and thoughtful speech. Trust us, it was poetic, simply too beautiful to share and definitely didn’t go something like “I’m stupid and this is stupid. Will you marry me?” Now, Alexandra and Michael look forward to celebrating their wedding with family and friends, before continuing their life together filled with love, support, and Rosie (and more marathons, apparently).