Michael and Jennifer met each other in 2015 through mutual friends while attending many of the same music and arts events in New York. Their friendship grew because of their similar sense of humor and deepened over heartfelt conversations about family values and future plans. Jennifer moved back to Hong Kong at the end of 2016 but that didn’t mean it would be the end.
Despite being on opposite sides of the planet, their relationship grew with daily phone calls and over 100,000 miles traveled to visit each other on a regular basis. Even though they were physically far apart their emotional connection was closer than ever. Michael and Jennifer were happiest when visiting each other and every goodbye became more difficult. Almost two years later, Jennifer had the opportunity to return to NYC and they never had to say goodbye to each other again.
Michael and Jennifer both appreciate the delicate beauty of nature and enjoy spending time with friends exploring outdoors. In 2016, they went hiking with a group of friends before visiting Storm King Art Center located in New York's Hudson Valley. Storm King is an outdoor large scale sculpture garden featuring works from artists such as Alexander Calder, Sol LeWitt, and Roy Lichtenstein.
The group explored the inspiring works of art before enjoying a memorable autumn sunset together. Michael chose Storm King as the location for the proposal because it represented things which bring happiness and peace to their relationship: nature, art, and friends. On June 22nd 2019, Michael prepared a picnic and proposed to Jennifer surrounded by the friends who had supported them throughout the years.