It all started with a swipe on Bumble in 2020. Michelle was persuaded to stay on Bumble for one more week by her sister Megan and friend Ashley. She is lucky she did because she swiped on Steven who had done the same and they were a match. Steven had been praying for a woman with personal, career and faith goals. He got that and a lot more with Michelle! They planned their first date at Federal House, (contrary to Steven thinking it was Iron Rooster) in downtown Annapolis. Both a little nervous, they hit it off and spent dinner enjoying each others conversation and learning about one another. As dinner was winding down, Steven asked Michelle if she would like to get ice cream, which she said no, in hopes, that they could grab a beer instead. Steven took Michelle to Fleet Reserve for the first time and they continued to connect on every level. Feeling that she wanted to see him again, Michelle invited Steven to the Halloween party they were having the next day. As the evening was coming to a close Steven asked to walk Michelle to the parking garage (a true gentleman), which was a few blocks away. On their walk, they held hands for the first time. Once they got to Michelle’s Volkswagen Jetta, Steven asked to be dropped back off at his car. After pulling up and still having butterflies about the next move they were going to make, Steven went in for a hug and they ended up sharing their first kiss. Michelle found out the next day that Steven parked in the wrong place downtown and got a $50 ticket. It all worked out in the end though!

Knowing how much love Steven and Michelle had for each other, it was only a matter of time before Steven would ask for Michelle to marry him and spend the rest of their lives together. Finding a the right opportunity and place to propose would be challenging for Steven since he wanted it to be special to the both of them and memorable.

An amazing opportunity presented itself when Michelle was finally able to take a trip abroad to Germany. She was selected a few months before the Covid pandemic shut the world down. After waiting all of those months and finally being able to take her trip, she invited Steven to fly over after her group was done. They decided to spend a few days in Berlin and then fly to Paris, a place Michelle had wanted to visit since she was little.

A few months before the trip, Steven and Michelle went engagement ring shopping so he would have an idea of what type of ring she would wear for the rest of their lives. Steven, having some family rings handed down to him, brought a bag full of different kinds of jewelry to be appraised. During the appraisal, Michelle saw a gold ring with a few diamond wrapped on the top. She fell in love with it and told Steven, this was exactly what she was looking for. The ring she picked was appraised to be over 100 years old by the jeweler. After the initial visit, Steven and Michelle told his mom what ring Michelle had chosen and she informed them the ring was from a distant relative and was most likely worn when she came to the United States from Poland. This ring became even more special to them both and the family history behind it.

As the weeks began to get closer to the trip and with the ring ready, Steven came up with a plan to propose to Michelle at the Bir Hakeim bridge. It overlooks the Seine river with the Eiffel Tower in the distance. He also hired a photographer to hide in the crowd and capture the special moment.

To get Michelle to the bridge was tricky, and Steven needed to be as sneaky as he could do she wouldn’t figure out his plan. During their planning of the trip, Steven told Michelle he would handle the dinner one evening, but it would be very formal and they would need to get dressed to the nines. Both Michelle and Steven love going to elegant dinner so this was an easy sell.

The evening was upon them, and Steven was very nervous. To help settle his nerves, they both grabbed some champagne at the hotel before their ride arrived. Michelle even asked why Steven was so quite before they left. He was able to just brush it off saying he was hungry.

Once they were in the car, they made some small talk and they finally arrived at the bridge. Michelle asked why they were there and Steven said he really liked this statue and wanted to see it. Steven then was able to get Michelle in the spot he needed to be in for the photographer. The history teacher in Michelle, of course wanted to know the historical significance of the statue more and asked why we were there, which Steven finally said “I think you know why we are here”. He got on one knee and asked Michelle to marry him.

After she said yes, they both embraced each other, shared a few kisses as the few people near the statue clapped for them!

After the excitement and taking a few photos with the photographer, Steven finally told Michelle they would be having dinner at the Eiffel Tower. A truly special moment was able to conclude with an absolutely amazing dinner and trip up the Eiffel Tower.