Marissa's oldest childhood friend, Margaret, invited her to her 22nd birthday celebration at Bar Louie in Bolingbrook. It was there that Margaret introduced Marissa to Anthony, whose cousin was dating Margaret. Anthony was very quiet the entire evening and left early from the party. The only words he spoke to Marissa were, "Pleased to meet you." Marissa was intrigued by him, and asked Margaret for his number the next day.

Anthony had planned a bar crawl for St. Patrick's Day weekend, and invited Marissa to join the group. Marissa got off of work that Saturday, March 14, and drove to Margaret's apartment to get ready. Together they drove to Chicago and met up with Anthony and the group in Lincoln Park. After frequenting several establishments, the group ended the night at Anthony's friend Ryan's apartment in Lincoln Park. Anthony and Marissa stayed up all night talking.

It had been one year since our first date. St. Patrick's Day weekend 2016, Anthony took Marissa back to Bar Louie in Bolingbrook, where they had first met. While eating appetizers, Anthony suddenly reached in his pocket and pulled out a little box. He knelt down on one knee and asked Marissa to marry him. Marissa quickly agreed! She looked up into the balcony to discover that they were being filmed by Anthony's closest family. What a memorable day.