It was not love at first sight. In fact, it was not allowed because they met through work. But Michele sat next to Blair at a group dinner and they chatted the entire night, not realizing that they were inadvertently ignoring everyone else. Blair was shocked when Michele asked for her number at the end but she gave it to him anyway because she thought he was kinda cute even though she would never admit it.

Three solid weeks went by before they could see each other in person again (Blair was a busy woman with a packed schedule). They got to know each other for real through lots of texting and chatting on the phone. Finally, they went on their first date and the chemistry that they felt over the phone was even better in person. They couldnt wait to see each other again and he went all the way back to San Francisco from the South Bay the next day for a second date where he cooked her pasta. She nearly fell in love with him then and there.

They continued seeing each other and soon after they introduced each other to their friends and family. Blair introduced him to make sure everyone thought he wasn't a serial killer. Michele still has concerns that Blair is one or at least will be the death of him.

During the next year, Blair and Michele bonded over their love of cooking, travel, and passionate discussions about topics that moved them. They delved deeper into each other's cultures. Michele started learning Vietnamese to better communicate with Blair's parents. Similarly, Blair took on Italian and would cook more Italian food but in Michele's opinion would butcher the recipes by adding too many vegetables.

When they went on their first trip abroad to Morocco, Blair had an inkling he was probably the one if she could tolerate being with him 24/7 for over two weeks.

…Turns out Michele was thinking the same thing! After proving they could spend two weeks together traveling without killing each other, they decided the next logical step would be to move in together!

Five months later and the young couple was thriving, despite Michele anxiously trying to keep an important secret from Blair (which he would later discover just how unsuccessful he was). He planned to propose!

Having gone to all of Blair’s friends and family to gain their approval, he set to work building the perfect ring for his dream girl. After months of diamond hunting and ring designing, he picked up the ring and set it aside.

The plan was to propose abroad, at the perfect time and place. But Blair is a globetrotter, a jet-setter, she had traveled the world her entire adult life and wouldn’t be easily impressed... so with the help of her sisters Michele devised a plan to hopefully surprise Blair with a romantic proposal on the breathtaking island of Santorini in Greece, surrounded by her family and loved ones.

And it was a success!! In the sense that Michele proposed and Blair said yes at least. Unbeknownst to him Blair had suspected that he was planning to pop the question pretty early on. You see, not only had Michele’s nerves betrayed him on the day of the proposal, but he had also let a lot more slip than he realized…

After a joyous proposal in May of 2024, the couple would travel to Italy a couple of months later to attend a wedding. While there, they visited the villa where they pictured the wedding of their dreams and fell in love with it immediately. It’s there, at Villa Rusconi-Clerici on July 10th, 2025, where they hope to see you celebrate their love.