Adam and Eve are hardly the only couple to have shared romance in a garden. Meet Jeffrey Costa and Michelle Soloway.
Mamaroneck resident Jeffrey, 33, met his fiancée, Michelle Soloway, from Franklin Square, Long Island, through a mutual friend Jeffrey had dated 10 years earlier. “Jeffrey saw a picture of me on her MySpace and said, ‘That’s the girl I want you to hook me up with,’” Michelle says. They met—and seemed to be opposites. “He’s the shy type and I’m definitely not,” Michelle says.
Nevertheless, Michelle, a 28-year-old administrative assistant in Harrison, found herself falling for Jeffrey, who bartends in the same town. “I had been having a bad day at work, and he drove all the way to my house to leave flowers and a note at my door. That’s when things totally changed.”
So much so that after a while Michelle was eager for a commitment. “I’d been bugging him for months saying, ‘You know we need to take the next step,’” she says. “His response was that he loved me and couldn’t see himself growing old and sharing a future with anyone else besides me, and to be patient!” After four and a half years together, they began discussing rings and ring shapes and types, but there was no proposal. Until, that is, June 4th. Jeffrey suggested going for a stroll at the PepsiCo Garden. The couple strolled and then stopped at the enchanting koi garden. After a while, Jeffrey walked away and called Michelle over, saying she’s just got to see this amazing flower. When Michelle looked, she spotted a princess cut engagement ring on a tall, yellow flower.
“His best friend helped him plan everything for this, and it was amazing,” Michelle says.
The couple, who has been living together in Mamaroneck since 2007, plans to wed August 3, 2012, at Beckwith Pointe in New Rochelle. “We had just gone to look at different halls and it was the only hall that made us say, ‘Wow.’ Jeffrey and I both love the serenity of water, and with Beckwith being right on the sound, we found the perfect place to share our love with our family. Our wedding will be, weather permitting, outside—right beside the water.” They plan to invite about 130 guests.