Smoked Salmon and Dinosaurs: A Love Story


Sometimes partnerships arise when you least expect them too. Individuals are focused on their career, or something else they're passionate about, and love isn’t even something that those individuals are focused on, or even searching for. This was the case for Andrew and Grace. However, that all changed one day when Grace struck up a conversation with Andrew which would set in motion a chain of events that would lead us to where we are today. And it all started with smoked salmon.


Andrew and Grace both worked together at Whole Foods years before they started dating, however logistics prevented them from ever really seeing, or talking to each other. Grace started her career at customer service before moving to the coffee bar where she found her home at Whole Foods. Her passion for coffee is unrivaled, and she quickly became everyone's favorite barista, due to the care she has for her customers and making the drinks just how they like them.


Andrew worked in the seafood department, which is on the opposite side of the store from where the coffee bar is located. Andrew was also not a coffee drinker, so he rarely traveled to that part of the store, and almost never saw Grace.


Then, one day, Grace was tasked with finding some smoked salmon to bring home. The smoked salmon case in the seafood department offers a slew of different varieties and flavors, so Grace asked someone from behind the seafood counter for help, and that person happened to be Andrew. Andrew explained about the different brands in great detail and helped Garce make her decision. This had a lasting effect on Grace and she suddenly became interested in Andrew. (Grace will always let people know that she was interested first!)


From there, Grace and Andrew started talking a little more in the store, but also online. Grace would send Andrew Instagram reels from the page Dinocomics. These are short animations that deal a lot about the conversation of mental health. These comics resonated with both Andrew and Grace, and before long, Grace gave Andrew her number.


Conversations grew between Andrew and Grace, but Andrew still did not make a move. Then finally, one day at work, Andrew’s coworker and friend, Yasmin, told Andrew that Grace had a crush on him. This finally gave Andrew enough courage to ask Grace out. The date was set for June 21st at Small World Coffee in Princeton.


It was a hot summer day, on Witherspoon Street in Princeton was busy with people enjoying the hot sunny day. Grace ordered her usual, a decaf, iced, honey vanilla latte with oat milk. Andrew, knowing nothing about coffee at the time, ordered the same thing because it sounded good. Throughout the whole date they made easy conversation, and quickly lost track of time. Six hours easily passed by as they got to know each other. The date was successful, and they left with the promise of a second date.


The relationship took off, and their love grew. One outlet of love the couple shared was their notebook. Grace made this as a way for them to send notes of love back and forth to each other while they were at work. Grace would write in the book, and leave it for Andrew to read, and vice versa. It was a way for them to communicate with each other and share their love besides text messages.


 Fast forward to late in 2022, Andrew met with Grace's mom, Karen, while Grace was at work to ask for Grace’s hand in marriage. Karen agreed, and to make it a surprise they planned a day where some of Grace's family and friends could be there. Grace always wanted her sister, mom, and best friend present. So the date was set to get together to watch the Eagles vs. Giants game on December 11th. Grace’s family being Giant supporters, and Andrew being a lifelong Eagles fan, made this a great cover story. 


Andrew called Emily and Darby, Grace's sister, and future sister in law, and Lauren, Grace's best friend, to help plan this whole event and to be there when Andrew would eventually propose. Andrew came up with a couple different ideas on how to propose and make it unique, but the one idea that stood out was the notebook.


The day arrived and everyone got together to watch the game. At halftime, Andrew left to grab the notebook, which was the signal to everyone else that he was going to propose. Grace opened up the book to read a page long passage, she turned the page to find the inscribed question, “Will you marry me?” With tears in her eyes she said, “Absolutely.”


That leads us to now. Grace and Andrew have lived in an apartment for almost a year, and they continue to plan for their upcoming wedding on May 25, 2025. This is just a few chapters in their long story together and they look forward to filling the pages with tons of adventures, and happy memories.