James and Dani's story began at the ripe age of just 5-years-old in Pre-K at Floral Park Bellerose School.

From there, they continued as classmates for most of their elementary school years, even performing in some school plays together (in which James, a little elf, forgot to decorate Dani, a little Christmas tree.)

Their story continued as classmates through high school.And although they were in the same friend group for years, it wasn't until Nickmas of 2016 in the St. Clair's basement that they decided to give it a real shot.

It was a rocky next few months, but they made things official right before their senior year of college.

With James in Florida and Dani in Westchester, they made their relationship work through a lot of texts and a ton of Facetime calls.

As difficult as long distance was, it became real when less than a year into dating, Dani was invited to James' cousins' wedding in Ireland. That wedding was about a year away.

But lucky for them (and all of us), Dani and James overcame the distance, went to Ireland, and fell in love with traveling, seeing the world together, and of course, each other.

Now more than a dozen trips and five countries later, they are always talking about and looking forward to what part of the world they will see next.

So, 18 years after Dani and James first met, 7 years after they made their relationship official, and dozens of gentle nudges by Dani, James decided to pop the question. And on August 24th at the Planting Field Arboretum in Oyster Bay, Dani said yes.

That brings us to today, where the two are now living together in Elmont and planning their next step together as Mr. and Mrs.

Wedding Day

Reception

August 24, 2024