Marina and Mike both attended Wesleyan University starting in 2012. While they knew of each other, they didn't speak much at Wes.

Flash forward to 2019, Marina was working in New York for just a few weeks before heading back to Los Angeles where she lived at the time. Mike, mustering the courage, slid into Marina's Instagram messages to spark up a conversation. On their first date, the following conversation unfolded:

Marina: "Yeah I feel like we were in tangential friend groups but didn't really get to know each other that well"

Mike: "And we had that art class together"

Marina: "Oh, of course!"

Mike: "and we went on that field trip together. And had lunch with each other"

Marina: "Right, right, of course!"

Reader...she did not remember.

BUT that flub did not prevent them from going on a second date.

After a few months of long distance dating while Marina still lived in LA, the pair were excited to spend a few weeks living in the same city when Marina took a job in New York that started in March... of 2020. Within a week of landing at JFK, Marina's job had gone fully remote, the Mayor had shut down all "non-essential" businesses, and the world had turned on its side.

The couple got an early look at their crisis-management styles and, ultimately, living styles, when they decided it was best for Marina to huddle up with Mike and his gracious roommates, Conor and Gio. They all lived together for about 2 weeks before Marina flew back to Ann Arbor to wait out the storm. Despite the difficulties, those 2 weeks reassured them of how well they worked together and how much they cared about each other.

After a few months in Michigan, Marina crisscrossed the country to move from LA to New York permanently, as her full-time job at The Drew Barrymore Show was set to start after a pandemic-induced delay. Finally, Marina and Mike were able to hit the ground running, and that's just what they did.

After a year of navigating the pandemic, cooking lavish dinners in Marina's kitchen, and wearing out the pavement between their apartments, the couple decided to move to the Upper West Side together. They found a lovely apartment next to a beautiful community garden and started to imagine what a shared life would look like.

A year later, Cashew, a scruffy, scrappy, and lovable Chihuahua mix wormed her way into their hearts (and under the couch).

And a year after that, Mike proposed to Marina (with Cashew in attendance) in Central Park where they all enjoy a nice stroll. Despite the stifling New York humidity, Marina said yes and they celebrated with a family dinner later that day.

The three of them still live in the apartment they love, hosting dinner parties and enjoying the changing seasons in the garden next door. They can't wait to see everyone in September to celebrate the next step in their story.

Registry