Our Story

About Ann Taylor

Ann Taylor grew up in Mobile, Alabama and received her B.A. in Communication from the University of Alabama. After graduation, she moved to New York City with the goal of working in financial communication. After six years of working in media and investor relations for asset management companies, she decided that the financial sector wasn’t quite for her. While considering a career shift, Ann Taylor realized that her favorite past job was giving campus tours to prospective students at the University of Alabama; now she works as an Admissions Advisor for the City University of New York while pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree at the Baruch College School of Public Affairs. Ann Taylor is an avid Alabama football fan (Roll Tide!), an active member of the UANYC alumni chapter, and serves as a Regional Vice President on the University’s National Alumni Association Executive Committee.

About Dan

Dan grew up in Shelton, CT – home of the Wiffle ball – and earned his B.A. in Computer Science from Boston College. Tired of New England Winters, Dan packed his bags and moved to Atlanta. While there, he received a M.S. in Human-Computer Interaction from Georgia Tech, although he maintains allegiance to Eagles football, basketball and hockey. After two years in Georgia, Dan moved back to the tri-state area to be closer to his family and his beloved New York Yankees. Dan started working as a user experience designer with Roundarch, a digital agency that designs experiences for the world’s largest organizations. He endeavors to make websites and mobile products that are easier to use, and even spent two years designing online fantasy baseball tools. When away from the computer, Dan has spent his free time playing kickball with ZogSports, volunteering at New York Methodist Hospital and watching his Yankees pursue their 28th World Championship with his new beloved, Ann Taylor.

How We Met

Ann Taylor and Dan were introduced through eHarmony.com in late October 2009, and Dan quickly learned that he had met a serious college football fan. Given that it was the middle of football season, several early dates consisted of going to watch the Alabama football games with 400+ of their closest friends at the Ainsworth, the UANYC alumni game-watching spot. Dan remembers the night of their first date as “November 6th”; Ann Taylor remembers it as “the night before the LSU game.” Despite the fact that she dragged him to watch a football game for every other date that fall, Dan quickly realized that Ann Taylor was special, and he fell in love (he also realized that SEC football fans are a little crazy.) Dan’s patience and willingness to go with the flow won over Ann Taylor, and neither one of them went on another eHarmony date after meeting each other. Their relationship has spanned many fun milestones: a Yankees World Series, a Crimson Tide National Championship, trips to hometowns and college towns, road trips to Cape Cod, holidays with families, career changes, vacations and countless memories of simply exploring NYC together.

The Proposal

In April 2011, Dan and Ann Taylor went to Disney World for Ann Taylor’s graduate school spring break. The trip was a surprise birthday present from Dan, and the two had been eagerly looking forward to it since November 2010. (Maybe Dan was looking forward to it a little more, since he had other surprises up his sleeve!) Every aspect of the trip was a surprise, from the first-class seats on the plane to the itineraries for each day. On Monday night, right at the beginning of the week, Dan surprised Ann Taylor with dinner at the amazing Victoria and Albert’s restaurant in Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. Ann Taylor was blown away by the service and food at this top-notch, fine dining restaurant, but Dan was too nervous about his plans for later in the evening to taste much of the food. He didn’t act nervous though, and Ann Taylor had no idea that something was up. After the fifth course, the restaurant’s hostess brought over a silver tray with a domed top and said that the chef had sent out something for them to enjoy while he prepared their desserts. When the hostess lifted off the lid, Ann Taylor saw a beautiful engagement ring nestled inside a single red rose. Dan (who did look nervous now), got down on one knee and proposed, and Ann Taylor said “Absolutely!” After that, Dan really enjoyed his dessert, but Ann Taylor was too excited and overwhelmed to eat. They enjoyed the rest of the week in Disney as a “just engaged” couple and had a wonderful vacation!