Michelle and Rodger’s Wedding Trailer at deSeversky Mansion

How did you two meet Rodger?
It was November 27, 2003, after a great Thanskgiving dinner, we usually would invite friends over for desert and to socialize and hang out once again. My brother Rob invites his usual crew and I invite mine, except this time my close friend Dave wanted to know if he could bring along a friend of his as well. And while I’m game to meeting new people, especially from close friends, I could never had anticipated what happened next. Because in walks Michelle. No one there knew who she was or where she came from, but oh! What an impression she made, just by her presence! She had taken my breath away!

How did Rodger propose to you Michelle?
It was Saturday, September 06, 2014 and just a regular day in New York City. Rodger and I were going to celebrate my 30th birthday before my rooftop party that night. Rodger had a whole day of surprises in store and I was trying my hardest to figure them out. When we first arrived in the city he told me we were going straight to brunch. A short cab ride later, we pulled up to a fantastic restaurant called Alice’s Tea Cup. Since I’m an Alice in Wonderland addict, this was a perfect place for us to start the day. We enjoyed some finger sandwiches, giant scones, a lemon tart, and very delicious lavender earl grey tea.

We went for a short walk and then a cab ride to east 72nd street where we entered Central Park. It was a muggy and mostly sunny day. In other words, it was a great day for a stroll. Our first stop was at the Hans Christian Andersen statue. He is one of my favorite authors of childrens stories. Our second stop was the very famous Alice in Wonderland statue. Even though I am a self-proclaimed Alice addict, I had never been there and I was terribly excited. It was too hot to sit on or climb the statue, but Rodger and I walked around it, reading the different quotes from the book.

Since it was so muggy Rodger suggested that we take a rest on a bench nearby. He also thought that this would be the perfect time to give me my birthday gift. I unwraped a beautiful book that contained both stories Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. When I opened the cover there was card with an original poem by Rodger himself. He recorded me while I read it aloud. It was a romantic poem that told the story of us and of time. After I read the poem Rodger wanted me to read the first chapter of the book since we were at the Alice statue. As soon as I turned to chapter one, I saw the most beautiful ring just sitting there in the hollowed out book. He then got down on one knee and told me how much he loved me and asked me to be his wife. Of course I said yes!!
To kill time before dinner we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For dinner Rodger took me to the restaurant Sarabeths. When we got there it was an engagement dinner with both of our families there to help celebrate. And my rooftop birthday party with friends became our impromtu engagement party.