When Josh Winowiecki and Andrew Morton planned a trip to Paris, they planned it with their mothers in mind.
"We took our moms with us because they both turned 60 this year," said Winowiecki.
The trip, which took place in May, was different from the start.
"We sort of joked a lot about doing the trip with our mothers," Morton said. "So we had been joking a lot not to expect a proposal. I certainly convinced myself of that as well. We had talked about getting married and I think we both knew it was inevitable at some point fairly soon."
But on May 12, at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris, Winowiecki popped the question.
"I think it was a lovely way to do it," said Morton. "It's a great memory. And it was nice to have my mom there as well."
Now, back in their downtown Detroit home, the couple is busy planning a wedding. They've set the date for May 31, 2019.
"We're just now delving into this crazy wedding planning business," Winowiecki said. "We talk about this a lot but it's very exciting where marriage equality has gone and the opportunity that exists. When I came out in 1996, for years I thought I'd never be able to be married.
"But it's also terrifying because there's not a lot of tradition to fall back on," Winowiecki continued. "So it's been exciting to determine what we wanted our wedding to look like but there's no frame work to follow. We're looking at a small ceremony, just immediate family. Then for the reception maybe about 100 people."
Flashback three years
"We met on OK Cupid," said Winowiecki. "We went out for coffee and then fairly quickly after that we started seeing each other. We moved into together about a year after that."
"I had been in a relationship that ended not so well and I remember talking to a friend of mine, bemoaning my relationship and her advice was, 'You just need to go on another date," Morton recalled. "So I went on a handful of dates over a few months. But when I met Josh I definitely felt it was something different, it was very easy. There was plenty to talk about. Something I admired about Josh and found attractive is the way he would talk about his work. He's a nurse and he would talk about it with such passion."
Winowiecki, too, knew things were getting seriously quickly.
"I think when I met Andrew I knew that something was different, for sure, with our connection," he said. "As the next two years went along not only our kind of view on the world and important issues lined up very well. But we didn't agree on everything, which I kind of appreciate. I appreciate the back and forth that we have and that we can intellectually discuss important issues and not always agree. Andrew helps me see things from a perspective I might not see normally."
When not comparing world views, Morton and Winowiecki can often be found traveling.
"We travel a lot," Winowiecki said. "We haven't given our honeymoon a whole lot of thought. Andrew is British, so there are family and friends who will not be able to come over for the wedding. So we're planning on having a second celebration in the UK for our friends and family there."
