Orient Point Engagement Photos - Amy & Brian

What stage of life were you when you met? What were you doing, where were you working? What did you feel about love and marriage in general?

Amy: I was 24 years old and had just recently left a career in Manhattan’s fashion industry, to start a career in education. Needing credentials, I enrolled at Hofstra University to pursue a Master of Education in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies. My whole life I always wanted to get married and have a family. But at the time I met Brian, I really wasn’t looking for anything serious. I was just trying to figure out my career and I had kind of accepted the fact that I probably wasn’t getting married anytime soon.

Brian: When Amy and I met I was very comfortable with my life and at my job. At the time I was managing a small craft beer bar in East Northport and still living with my parents in West Islip. With no rent to pay and having a few years under my belt at the bar I worked at, I have to admit that I was a little too comfortable with my life. Writing this it sounds like both good and bad thing and looking back Amy couldn’t have entered into my life at a more perfect time because she’s exactly what I was and wasn’t looking for at the time – thank god for that!

How did you meet each other?

Amy: I was out to dinner with some friends from my master’s program and Brian was working as a manager in a quaint pub in Northport. This is when Brian swept right into my life and we exchanged numbers. We went back and forth for a few weeks before Brian decided to pull the trigger and ask for an actual, in-person date. I was hesitant because I didn’t really know much about him.

Bring us back to that first encounter. What were you wearing? What were you feeling? Who made that first contact?

Brian: I’ll never forget it. I still bug her about the long scarf that she wore around her neck and head and it pretty much covered her entire face! I literally could barely see her and I remember saying to myself, “What is this girl wearing?” and, “I hope she’s hot underneath there…” I think I was wearing a black sweater and that’s only because in the past Amy has reminded me about how good her memory is when we first met.

Amy: It was raining, and Brian was picking me up from my house. So I ran out to his Suburu with a big scarf wrapped around my head and a winter coat (it was December). I also had on black jeans and this big plaid print cardigan. I was feeling nervous, but I was acting like going out with a stranger was normal. Brian will tell you I didn’t talk the entire ride and that he wasn’t nervous at all. But I’m telling you he was – he had this very polite phone voice going on.

After that first meeting, how did you feel about the other person? Who made the all-important follow-up phone/text/email?

Brian: I was very intrigued by Amy. She was not like any girl I’ve ever met because to be honest I never went out with girls like Amy. She had a very calm and cool persona and talked and laughed just enough that I kept trying to get her to talk and laugh even more. I definitely was consistent about following up with Amy. I remember I was the one who texted her right after we met but one thing that I think caught her off guard is that I also called her a couple times after we met. I remember thinking about her all the time and just wanted to see her again.

Amy: After that first encounter in the car, I was more excited to see how the date went because Brian just seemed like a really nice guy. After the date ended, I think it was a mutual follow-up but the persistent follow-up from Brian took me by surprise. The fact that he was interested and wasn’t trying to play a game to show me that he was interested was refreshing.

Tell us about your first date? Where did you go? Did you meet at the location or did you go together? What did you talk about? Was conversation easy?

Amy: So our first encounter was really when Brian picked me up for our first date. We went to Vine Bar on Merrick Rd. in his car. The conversation came easily. We told each other about ourselves and our families. And then the food came out and it was TERRIBLE, so that really broke the ice. When the date ended, we walked back to his Subaru to take the four-and-a-half-minute ride back to my house. But when we got in the car and Brian turned the key, it would not start. His car battery was dead. Always eager to make a new friend, Brian flagged down an unknown driver for a jumpstart.

Brian: I picked her up in front of her house and I remember I was about to get out to open the passenger door to let her in but she walked out really fast and my master plan didn’t work out. On the way to the wine bar, Amy was very quiet or maybe I was just asking too many questions but as I remember, she said few words. Then words started coming out of her mouth when a song she liked came on the radio and she started singing decently loud. I smiled and laughed because it wasn’t making sense to me but I instantly liked her a lot. At the dinner table I remember two things that “broke the ice.” First is when I asked her if she liked the wine she was drinking, but I asked her when she was in the middle of drinking it so she responded with a very happy eyebrow raise – I thought it was so cute. Second, is when we ordered some appetizers and I asked her what she thought of the food. We both agreed that the food sucked which made us laugh and we still tell people about it today. It’s just a shame because we never went back! Conversation was easy, but as I mentioned she would talk and laugh just enough to get me to keep trying to keep it going.

What was one thing you took away from that first date that still holds true today?

Amy: That Brian is always making new friends and always ready to make a bad situation a good one.

Brian: I realized that Amy and I are an “opposites attract” kind of couple. We always talk about it and we both love it. The first date was us being us and that stands true today, we continue to surprise each other and she still keeps me wanting to make her talk and laugh more! Also, Amy continues to wear that same scarf wrapped around her head when it’s cold out. It’s funny because it always reminds me of our first encounter and first date but at the same time I really don’t understand it.