During college they saw each other on weekends, usually at family gatherings.
“I feel like there was an event every week,” she said, and during the week and Saturdays, he worked at his family’s truck repair business.
“He works hard and plays hard,’’ she said. “He likes to be around family all the time.”
Mr. Gonzalo said she was nervous about going to law school. But he recalled telling her, “‘It’s not going to be easy, but you got to do it.’ She pushed me through college. I gave her support through law school. She passed the bar in one shot.”
He proposed in May 2018 at her law school graduation party, in front of 80 guests, after she was sworn into the New Jersey bar.
“My boss swore me in at the party,’” she said. “My parents were holding the Bible,’’ and then she recalled Mr. Gonzalo grabbed her hand, and said, “‘I’m very proud of you. You’re going to be an awesome attorney, but I know you’re going to be an even better wife,’” and then he got down on one knee.
By the end of the year they moved into their house in Little Falls, N.J., with their two Maltipoo dogs, Mason and Ava.
“He’s definitely not skinnier than me anymore,’’ she said, and now he drives his own little red Corvette. (His father still has the Hummer). “He works hard for the future, spending as much time with me as he can so that we have everything we envisioned growing up. We’re living the American dream.”
They originally planned to marry on May 24 at the Ss. Joseph and Michael Church in Union City, with 150 guests, and now plan to renew their vows there next April. They decided to get legally married June 27 in their backyard in Little Falls. The groom’s sister Jessica Kovach, affiliated with the American Marriage Ministries, officiated at a small ceremony with their immediate family.