Ms. Franechivich, who graduated from the University of New Orleans and has lived most of her life in the city, said she realized Mr. Swistel was special within a few weeks of that first date. “We were at this bar, the Half Moon, and I remember this one moment where I was like, I really, really like this guy.”
She was impressed by his curiosity, by his work ethic and by the persistence she had already experienced. “He loves learning, he loves figuring out how anything works, he has a very good heart and he’s super loyal to the people he loves,” she said.
The two moved together to Nashville in 2019, so that Mr. Swistel, who grew up in New York, could study at Vanderbilt for an M.B.A. He now works as a corporate development manager for Freedom Mortgage, a lender with corporate headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla. Ms. Franichevich, who will take her husband’s name, sells vintage clothing online and obtained a New Jersey real estate license. The couple recently moved to Spring Lake, N.J.
Their marriage, on May 29 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in New Orleans, was performed by the Rev. Anthony Rigoli, a Roman Catholic priest, before about 100 guests. The reception, with 220 guests, took place outdoors at the Old Ursuline Convent Museum, in a nod to the Catholic tradition in which the bride was educated.
Mr. Swistel said that while he acknowledges his persistence, it all made sense to him.
“She was just, like, really special — super nice, she’s beautiful, and very high energy,” he said. “I just felt this magnetic attraction. She’s great to talk to. From the outside it looks like a lot of effort, but once we started talking, it flowed naturally.”
