The Next Steps
Man,
I haven't written anything in a while and a lot of exciting things have happened over the course of that time! The following has all happened in less than 1 year!
Upon arriving back from my Uganda/England/Germany Travels, I took a position with JP Morgan up in Chicago doing similar work as I was doing before in Delaware. The job actually started there and brought me back to Delaware in February.
I had an awesome time in Chicago hanging out with friends, living with my brother, Mark, and enjoying an apartment right on Michigan Ave. It had a beautiful view overlooking Millenium Park, not to mention it's prime location. The other significant event that happened while I was in Chi-town was a random encounter with a girl named Ana Batista who worked for JPM in Manhattan and had been my "higher up" while I was at my previous position in Delaware. This meeting ended up becoming something much more significant because after a visit to Portugal to ask Mr Batista for his daughters hand in marriage in June. In between that time, we had a first date, some more dates, a proposal, wedding planning, trips back and forth between DE, NJ, and PA, and finally the wedding itself on September 2. Now I find myself married, without a job and living in a new home in a different state (NJ).
What follows is a little background about us that was posted on our wedding website.
-------------
SEPTEMBER 2, 2007................Newlyweds for 8 days!
ABOUT ANA:
I grew up in Newark, New Jersey as a first generation American, the daughter of Portuguese immigrants, Braulio and Maria. My mother came to the United States with her parents at the age of 14 and my father 3 years later when he married my mother. I have a younger brother named Braulio, who is now a high school art teacher.I graduated from Trenton State College with a B.S. in International Business and minors in French and Economics. My first job after graduation was at Merrill Lynch, where I stayed for all of 9 months! I then went to work for JPMorgan in Manhattan and have been there for over 7 years. Fun facts about me: I have a Shih Tzu named Molly, I just got back from volunteering at an orphanage in Uganda, I have my motorcycle license, I like to have cornflakes on my ice cream, and yes…I really am 30!
ABOUT NATHANAEL :
I hope you enjoy international flavor, because it continues here. The first year of my life entailed a birth in Edinburgh, Scotland, some time in the States, and the beginning of childhood in Taiwan. The remainder of life has entailed spending various times in each of those three places. Uganda has been the most recent addition to that list of places, but hopefully won't be the last!I am the oldest of four children and have been very fortunate to have such a wonderful and loving family.My early career aspirations included being a minister or a gym teacher, but somehow I found my way to investment bank operations at JP Morgan after graduating from Wheaton College. I'm not sure where life will lead next, but I hope to always pursue my interests in ceramics, travel, Philly sports and some growing businesses in East Africa.
HOW WE MET:
Ana and I were coworkers for three years at JP Morgan. However, during that time there was absolutely no romantic interest between the two of us (In fact, I would not go too far by saying that we really did not like each other very much!). We communicated infrequently as Ana's choice method of reprimanding my rookie mistakes was through my boss. We have come a long way from those days and now she just reprimands me directly!The real story began when we met up randomly in Chicago while I was training for a new role and Ana was working on some projects. Gradually our communication increased as I helped Ana plan a volunteer trip to Africa. Things have progressed wonderfully from there in a short time. Only direct guidance from God could have resulted in such an unlikely pairing, but now that we're together, nothing will break us apart! We've learned to minimize our differences, focus on our similarities and rely on each other for support and encouragement. We're both excited for the possibilities that we have as a couple!
WHEN WE GOT ENGAGED:
June 12, 2007
HOW IT HAPPENED:
We had been quietly planning our wedding for some time but we were waiting to make it official until after Nathanael and my family had a chance to meet. So we decided to go to Portugal for a few days and I thought that perhaps he would pop the question in Portugal! We arrived in Lisbon on a Saturday morning and were warmly greeted by my parents. It was great to have them finally meet Nathanael. We spent the next few days visiting family, and doing some site-seeing in Coimbra, Porto and some beautiful nearby beaches. Each time we went somewhere romantic (which was quite a few times), I thought, "this is it, he's going to ask me" but day after day kept passing us by and nothing had transpired. I must admit I was starting to wonder what was going on, had my father said "no"?! Finally, on our last night in Portugal around midnight (we were leaving for the airport the next morning at 5:30am), he walked me into my parents' vegetable garden, sat me down on the family well, got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. The roosters were crowing, cats were jumping all around us (did I mention I’m really allergic to cats), and it was pitch black. I could not actually see the ring until he took out his cell phone and shined a light on it…it was a beautiful, unique setting with a diamond and a sapphire. We walked around my family’s vineyard for a while and it was a wonderful moment. I looked up into the heavens and thanked God for all the wonderful blessings He had given me. We then went back into my parent’s house, my dad opened a nice cold bottle of champagne and he said a blessing over us. I was so happy, but I couldn’t help but ask Nathanael why he had waited until our last night! Apparently, his request for my hand in marriage had been lost in translation (an English/ Portuguese dictionary would have come in handy, I think), and my dad kept telling him to wait for a later point. Finally, time was running out, Nathanael knew I was growing more anxious, it was late on our last night there, and it had just rained....Soooooooooo the proposal occured in the vegetable garden.It will be a great story to tell our children one day!
WHEN & WHERE:
September 2, 2007
Villanova, PA
ABOUT THE BIG DAY:
Nathanael and I fell in love with the Appleford Estate the first time we visited and decided we wanted to be married there. The ceremony will take place near a pond and waterfall by two large willow trees. We will enjoy flute and harp accompaniment during the ceremony which will be officiated by Nathanael’s father, the Revd. Dennis Brice.The ceremony will be followed by hors d'oeuvres and cocktails in the gardens surrounding the home. Wining, dining, and dancing under the tent come next as we round out the night. Come join us on the dance floor for a mix of tunes from around the globe and across time!
I haven't written anything in a while and a lot of exciting things have happened over the course of that time! The following has all happened in less than 1 year!
Upon arriving back from my Uganda/England/Germany Travels, I took a position with JP Morgan up in Chicago doing similar work as I was doing before in Delaware. The job actually started there and brought me back to Delaware in February.
I had an awesome time in Chicago hanging out with friends, living with my brother, Mark, and enjoying an apartment right on Michigan Ave. It had a beautiful view overlooking Millenium Park, not to mention it's prime location. The other significant event that happened while I was in Chi-town was a random encounter with a girl named Ana Batista who worked for JPM in Manhattan and had been my "higher up" while I was at my previous position in Delaware. This meeting ended up becoming something much more significant because after a visit to Portugal to ask Mr Batista for his daughters hand in marriage in June. In between that time, we had a first date, some more dates, a proposal, wedding planning, trips back and forth between DE, NJ, and PA, and finally the wedding itself on September 2. Now I find myself married, without a job and living in a new home in a different state (NJ).
What follows is a little background about us that was posted on our wedding website.
-------------
SEPTEMBER 2, 2007................Newlyweds for 8 days!
ABOUT ANA:
I grew up in Newark, New Jersey as a first generation American, the daughter of Portuguese immigrants, Braulio and Maria. My mother came to the United States with her parents at the age of 14 and my father 3 years later when he married my mother. I have a younger brother named Braulio, who is now a high school art teacher.I graduated from Trenton State College with a B.S. in International Business and minors in French and Economics. My first job after graduation was at Merrill Lynch, where I stayed for all of 9 months! I then went to work for JPMorgan in Manhattan and have been there for over 7 years. Fun facts about me: I have a Shih Tzu named Molly, I just got back from volunteering at an orphanage in Uganda, I have my motorcycle license, I like to have cornflakes on my ice cream, and yes…I really am 30!
ABOUT NATHANAEL :
I hope you enjoy international flavor, because it continues here. The first year of my life entailed a birth in Edinburgh, Scotland, some time in the States, and the beginning of childhood in Taiwan. The remainder of life has entailed spending various times in each of those three places. Uganda has been the most recent addition to that list of places, but hopefully won't be the last!I am the oldest of four children and have been very fortunate to have such a wonderful and loving family.My early career aspirations included being a minister or a gym teacher, but somehow I found my way to investment bank operations at JP Morgan after graduating from Wheaton College. I'm not sure where life will lead next, but I hope to always pursue my interests in ceramics, travel, Philly sports and some growing businesses in East Africa.
HOW WE MET:
Ana and I were coworkers for three years at JP Morgan. However, during that time there was absolutely no romantic interest between the two of us (In fact, I would not go too far by saying that we really did not like each other very much!). We communicated infrequently as Ana's choice method of reprimanding my rookie mistakes was through my boss. We have come a long way from those days and now she just reprimands me directly!The real story began when we met up randomly in Chicago while I was training for a new role and Ana was working on some projects. Gradually our communication increased as I helped Ana plan a volunteer trip to Africa. Things have progressed wonderfully from there in a short time. Only direct guidance from God could have resulted in such an unlikely pairing, but now that we're together, nothing will break us apart! We've learned to minimize our differences, focus on our similarities and rely on each other for support and encouragement. We're both excited for the possibilities that we have as a couple!
WHEN WE GOT ENGAGED:
June 12, 2007
HOW IT HAPPENED:
We had been quietly planning our wedding for some time but we were waiting to make it official until after Nathanael and my family had a chance to meet. So we decided to go to Portugal for a few days and I thought that perhaps he would pop the question in Portugal! We arrived in Lisbon on a Saturday morning and were warmly greeted by my parents. It was great to have them finally meet Nathanael. We spent the next few days visiting family, and doing some site-seeing in Coimbra, Porto and some beautiful nearby beaches. Each time we went somewhere romantic (which was quite a few times), I thought, "this is it, he's going to ask me" but day after day kept passing us by and nothing had transpired. I must admit I was starting to wonder what was going on, had my father said "no"?! Finally, on our last night in Portugal around midnight (we were leaving for the airport the next morning at 5:30am), he walked me into my parents' vegetable garden, sat me down on the family well, got down on his knee and asked me to marry him. The roosters were crowing, cats were jumping all around us (did I mention I’m really allergic to cats), and it was pitch black. I could not actually see the ring until he took out his cell phone and shined a light on it…it was a beautiful, unique setting with a diamond and a sapphire. We walked around my family’s vineyard for a while and it was a wonderful moment. I looked up into the heavens and thanked God for all the wonderful blessings He had given me. We then went back into my parent’s house, my dad opened a nice cold bottle of champagne and he said a blessing over us. I was so happy, but I couldn’t help but ask Nathanael why he had waited until our last night! Apparently, his request for my hand in marriage had been lost in translation (an English/ Portuguese dictionary would have come in handy, I think), and my dad kept telling him to wait for a later point. Finally, time was running out, Nathanael knew I was growing more anxious, it was late on our last night there, and it had just rained....Soooooooooo the proposal occured in the vegetable garden.It will be a great story to tell our children one day!
WHEN & WHERE:
September 2, 2007
Villanova, PA
ABOUT THE BIG DAY:
Nathanael and I fell in love with the Appleford Estate the first time we visited and decided we wanted to be married there. The ceremony will take place near a pond and waterfall by two large willow trees. We will enjoy flute and harp accompaniment during the ceremony which will be officiated by Nathanael’s father, the Revd. Dennis Brice.The ceremony will be followed by hors d'oeuvres and cocktails in the gardens surrounding the home. Wining, dining, and dancing under the tent come next as we round out the night. Come join us on the dance floor for a mix of tunes from around the globe and across time!
posted by Nathanael Brice | 9/11/2007
1 Comments:
What, you lived in Chicago for awhile! I totally missed that move. We could have seen you!
Emily Allen
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