Deanna and Alex have known one another since their high school days, when they attended sister private schools in Westchester. In fact, Alex had always had a major crush on Deanna (who was one year his senior) but, back in those days, Deanna didn’t think anything of the younger classmen who admired her.
Then, in the summer of 2010, Alex worked up the courage to send her a message on Facebook. A mutual friend worked for him, and he figured it was as good an excuse as any to strike up a conversation.
They went out on one date, but the timing wasn’t quite right yet. Almost a year to the date later, however, all that changed and they have been a couple ever since.
Deanna is a practice manager for a medical group in Harrison and Alex is the founder, president and CEO of two staffing companies, Phoenix Group and Career Management Associate, in midtown Manhattan. While Deanna grew up in Mamaroneck, they now live together in Alex’s hometown of Briarcliff Manor.
For his birthday on November 13th, Alex’s cousin and close friend had arranged for the couple to celebrate at Valbella’s in Riverside, Connecticut as his gift to Alex. Valbella’s was actually one of the first spots that Alex had taken Deanna when they began dating, thinking it was a nice and romantic new place for them to try, not knowing that it was a frequent haunt for Deanna’s family.
They were having a lovely dinner in the private wine cellar of the restaurant when Deanna asked to excuse herself to go to the ladies room. Alex panicked since all of their family and friends were secretly waiting upstairs, so he quickly dashed upstairs himself saying that he needed to use the restroom first.
Deanna was very shocked by this behavior but her aggravation quickly dissipated as soon as he returned and got down on one knee to ask for her hand.
“I don’t know what the heck he said, but it was all lovely,” she says, and, after a few minutes when it all finally sank in, she happily said yes.
Although they hadn’t picked out rings together, Deanna had mentioned that she “always wanted something simple and classic and knew that whatever he picked out she would love” and she did.
Knowing that the couple wants to get married next fall, they wasted no time looking at venues in the area and are close to deciding upon a spot.
Their overall mentality towards the wedding “is less is more,” she says, and the couple wants “to think outside of the box to make our wedding different and unique.”
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