Indeks

‘An Annoying Question’ That Led to a Big One

Christopher Carroll Giglio and Lawrence Joseph Curran met in perfect rom-com fashion: at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City, just a few days before Christmas in 2013.

Mr. Giglio was doing some holiday shopping, and noticed a hole in a sweater he was considering purchasing for a friend. He also noticed an attractive man who was working at the store. That man was Mr. Curran, who worked in sales in the men’s department.

Mr. Giglio decided to use the hole in the sweater as an excuse to start a conversation with Mr. Curran. His opening line: “Can I ask you an annoying question?”

Mr. Curran jokingly responded, “Yes, I’m still single.” As it happened, Mr. Giglio had been wondering exactly that, but didn’t expect such an early answer.

The two started talking about Christmas shopping, and Mr. Giglio handed Mr. Curran his business card before leaving the store.

A few days later, while Mr. Giglio was with friends in Berlin for the holidays, he received a text from an unsaved phone number: “How many business cards did you give out that day?”

“I went, ‘Oh my god, it’s the guy I met,’” Mr. Giglio recalled.

When he returned to New York, Mr. Giglio, who hadn’t been on a date in five years, asked Mr. Curran out. They met up in January 2014 at Cafe Luxembourg on the Upper West Side.

On the date, Mr. Giglio mentioned that he had just put an offer down on a farmhouse in Sharon, Conn. He was worried that owning a farmhouse in a quiet town would “scare” Mr. Curran off, but Mr. Curran loved the idea. The farmhouse ended up a key element in their blossoming romance — they decorated the home together and stayed there on weekends and holidays.

“As we set up essentials for the house, we kind of learned about each other,” Mr. Giglio said. “We had this chance to get to know each other through everything that a couple does when they move into a space, but we didn’t have the pressure of moving in together.”

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They also learned about each other by opening up about their individual interests: Mr. Giglio has a passion for collecting American antiques, and Mr. Curran has a deep interest in college basketball.

“We both have very distinct careers,” Mr. Curran said. “We both have very distinct hobbies, and we’re interested in all that, but we do them separately and kind of meet in the middle and talk about them.”

In October 2015, Mr. Curran moved into Mr. Giglio’s apartment on the Upper West Side, where they still live today. Mr. Curran, 38, is a digital styling director at Saks Limitless. Mr. Giglio, 58, is a crisis management adviser at Rubenstein, the strategic communications and reputation management firm.

In May 2022, the couple traveled to Ireland, where they stayed at Ballyfin Demesne, a country house hotel. Halfway through their vacation, they had a picnic lunch at a vista on the property.

Before sitting down for lunch, Mr. Curran picked out a white flower from the ground. “As soon as it was in my fingers, I knew that we were going to get engaged,” he said.

Mr. Curran handed the flower to Mr. Giglio during their picnic, and with no rings nor plans to propose during the vacation, the couple asked each other to marry.

On Jan. 4, they married at a friend’s apartment in New York City. Betsy Gotbaum, who was ordained by Universal Life Church, officiated. Ms. Gotbaum’s husband and Mr. Curran’s mother were the only wedding guests.

The wedding celebration took place on Jan. 14 at Ballyfin Demesne, where they had proposed to each other, with 40 guests.

“We had this very simple, but perfect moment between us,” Mr. Curran said, describing their wedding ceremony.

“And we got to have a lovely dinner party at an amazing house,” Mr. Giglio said about their celebration in Ireland. “We got the best of both worlds.”

Sumber: www.nytimes.com

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