When Sara Catherine Crisman and Brandon Michael Begin matched on Tinder in March 2022, neither was looking for anything serious. Ms. Crisman, who lived in New York, had told friends she was taking a pause on dating, and Mr. Begin was living in Connecticut.
When they finally met in person weeks later at the Bonus Room, a dive bar in Ridgewood, Queens, it was Mr. Begin’s first New York City date — and his last.
When Ms. Crisman ordered a Miller High Life beer, Mr. Begin was immediately struck. “It was a good first indication that she was my vibe, because it’s what I’d order, too,” he said.
The date lasted hours, as they conversed about their love of travel, fashion and ’90s grunge bands. Before the date ended, Mr. Begin had asked her out for five more. “Whenever we talked about things I liked to do, he would say, ‘Let’s do that,’” Ms. Crisman recalled. When she teased him about all the additional commitments he was making, “he said something along the lines of, ‘Well, I at least want to make it to five.’”
Mr. Begin said he “really liked her” and wanted “to keep my spot in her brain.”
After the date, he walked her home and recognized her building as the same apartment complex where a close friend had once lived. After that, “we felt strongly that our meeting was fate,” she said.
Mr. Begin, 31, grew up in Bristol, Conn., and has been a professional BMX rider since 2015. He is sponsored by Cult, a California-based bicycle manufacturer, and Merritt, a New Jersey company that produces BMX components, for which he films video projects and promotes his signature products from both brands.
Ms. Crisman, 29, was born in La Jolla, Calif., and raised in Park City, Utah. She has a bachelor’s degree in dance and communications from Fordham University through its partnership with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She is a former professional contemporary dancer and is currently an integrated marketing manager at the Knot Worldwide, the wedding planning platform.
The two saw each other as often as they could, starting long-distance, with Mr. Begin living in Bristol and Ms. Crisman in Bushwick, Brooklyn. In July 2022, after a weekend date that included a trip to Rockaway Beach and dinner at Vanessa’s Dumpling House in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, they became exclusive. The following weekend, Mr. Begin secretly toured apartments and signed a lease for a home in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
“I just knew that if we were going to do this, I needed to show up fully,” he said. They currently live together in that same apartment with their dachshund, Remy.
In November 2022, Ms. Crisman was laid off from a role she had recently taken at a start-up. She spent months navigating uncertainty, and during one particularly overwhelming moment, Mr. Begin told her, “I will always take care of you.”
“I’ve always tried to handle everything on my own,” she said. “For the first time, it felt like I had a true partner who wouldn’t let me drown.”
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In July 2024, Mr. Begin proposed at the Bonus Room, where they first met. “He said to me, ‘This is where I first saw you, and I’m so happy I get to stand here now and ask you to marry me,’” she said.
On Oct. 6, the couple held a symbolic wedding in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris, their favorite city, before 37 guests at Musée de Montmartre, with the reception at Hôtel Particulier Montmartre. Ms. Crisman’s best friend, Samantha Posyton, led the celebration, and Ms. Crisman walked down the aisle to a string rendition of “Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star.
During the ceremony, she wore red Jimmy Choo heels as a nod to the 1948 film, “The Red Shoes,” an ode to her dance background, and a custom Wiederhoeft veil, corset and skirt. Mr. Begin wore a tailored Boss suit, Saint Laurent accessories, and later added a vintage Realtree baseball cap.
“It didn’t feel like we were doing something traditional — it felt like we were doing something honest,” Mr. Begin said of being surrounded by loved ones.
On Dec. 10, they were legally married by Wanyi Mai, a city clerk at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau. Afterward, the couple celebrated at their favorite British restaurant, Lord’s, in Greenwich Village, where they enjoyed Scotch eggs, oysters and champagne.
The post He Asked for Five More Dates Before the First One Ended appeared first on New York Times.
