Facebook didn’t just bring Rozzlyn Pierce together with Verragio, like so many other modern couples today; it also brought her together with her fiancé, Adam Bashline.
“It all started when we met in Canon McMillan High School, I was in 9th grade and he in 11th. Back then we flirted but never acted on our emotions,” Pierce said. “But in time we both went our separate ways, I moved away to Pittsburgh while he went to college in Waynesburg.”
Time passed and eventually Pierce had moved back to town for her senior year. The two reconnected though, after Pierce noticed that Bashline had changed his status to ‘single’ on Facebook.
“He had dated this girl I knew for 3 years, so I sent a message on Facebook saying that I was sorry to hear that, and I hope all is well,” Pierce said. “He replied that he would make it through and since I’m back in town we should catch up sometime.”
The two met up, caught up, and soon the pair that never quite connected in high school, was a couple with the future on their mind.
“Adam received a job offer back in September 2009 to move from our hometown in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania to Virginia to work for the government. We were dating for a little over a year and a half at that time, and I realized that if I didn’t follow him here I would not see him again,” Pierce said. “So we made the decision for me to move, and almost two and a half years later, here we are.”
And after three years together, the couple found themselves at Mervis Diamond Importers after Pierce saw a Verragio banner on Facebook.
“I love anything that has an antique feel to it, and the design work that is put into these rings is beautiful,” Pierce said.
But the Venetian 5003, from Verragio, stood out just a little more than the rest for Pierce.
“I loved the way the center stone seemed to float in between two intertwining ropes of diamonds,” Pierce said. “The intricate design work on the side had me sold.”
But wanting to leave a little something to be surprised with, Pierce let Bashline go back without her to choose the center diamond and finalize the ring.
On May 7th, 2011, Bashline proposed on the top of the W Hotel in Washington DC. It was the perfect place for Pierce, who had always wanted to see the view from up there and maybe even see a sniper positioned on the roof of the White House. “He told me he had an awards ceremony so we would need to dress up. We were seated outside in the lounge area it didn’t even occur that I saw none of his work mates,” Pierce said. “He stood up and said, ‘I was wrong, today is not the day of the awards ceremony. It is the day I’m asking you to marry me.’”
Surprised, with hands shaking, Pierce happily said yes.
“He slid the ring on my finger, stood up and knocked a glass over,” Pierce said. “We both laughed, finished our drinks and headed to Dogfish Head for dinner and a beer.”
The restaurant they ended up at may not be the most romantic place, Pierce concedes, but it is their place. “We ended the night talking and laughing in the corner together, then calling our closest family and friends,” Pierce said. “It was truly the best day our lives.”
Now, three years down the road, Pierce reflects on their reconnection.
“We both were rebounding from both our long term relationships gone wrong, but it somehow worked,” Pierce said. “Three months later we were dating, three years later we are engaged.”
