​Mandy and Dustin would like to thank J-Date for the kind introduction.  It all began when Dustin clicked on Mandy and she saw that he had looked at her.  She immediately messaged him and introduced herself.  Being that Mandy lived far away in Manhattan (Dustin was living on Long Island at the time), he was hesitant to respond, but her charm won him over.  And so it began…

 

Mandy traveled out to Long Island for their first date on November 19, 2011.  They ate delicious Afghani food, went to Planting Fields Arboretum (a beautiful botanical garden), walked around Ikea, and ​drank some Starbucks; all while Mandy repeatedly reassured her mother that she was safe and her chivalrous beau was, indeed, not a murderer.  The two said a sad goodbye at the end of the day and Mandy hopped on a train back to Manhattan.  The very next day, Dustin came to see her.

After a year and a half of dating in New York, Mandy and Dustin moved in together in Miami.

 

Soon after, Dustin took Mandy on a special trip the the Miami Seaquarium to swim with dolphins, an activity that Dustin had regularly told Mandy was on his bucket list.

Mandy and Dustin spent the morning walking around and looking a cute fish.  They even got soaked by Lolita, a giant killer whale.  Soon, it was time to go swimming.  The two suited up and hopped into the water.  They were delighted to spend time hanging out with the dolphins.

 Little did Mandy know, much of the experience was orchestrated around an upcoming surprise engagement.  At the end of the session, all of the other participants in the group were ushered out of the water.  The trainer held Mandy and Dustin back, giving Mandy ice cubes to feed one of the dolphins.  As they exited, the trainer asked Mandy if she would like to help her with a new trick that she is working on with one of the dolphins.  Delighted, and thinking it must be her lucky day, Mandy exclaimed “of course!”  The trainer told Mandy to squat on the edge of the platform and put her hands out.  When the dolphin swam over, she was instructed to take a buoy out of its mouth.  On the buoy was written “Will you marry me?”  Mandy turned around and Dustin was on one knee behind her with a beautiful piece of bling!  Mandy was so excited that she actually forgot to say yes (fun fact – she still technically hasn’t to this day).

               

Nonetheless, Mandy and Dustin are still very excitedly and diligently spending much of their free time in sunny Miami planning a beautiful wedding (and, of course, being proud bunny parents).

They cannot wait to welcome you to St. Louis to celebrate their big day with each of you!