It took a trip 7,000 miles away from their homes for Sheila Mengel and Michael Colelli to fall in love. The couple knew each other while attending Providence College but it wasn’t until they both were accepted into a post-graduation program teaching spoken English in the Inner Mongolia Province of China that they began dating.
The two dated for four years before Michael proposed. Sheila had kept a blog about her experiences in China which helped Michael find his way to propose. Michael wrote the epilogue to Shelia’s blog which was his method of proposing and turned it into a book.
Sheila and Michael were married at the St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Fairfield by the Reverend Victor Martin. Friends and family then attended the reception at Dolce Norwalk, where they ate and danced the night away at the red-themed celebration. Sheila and Michael placed touches of red throughout their décor to symbolize where they fell in love, China. The couple had red roses and an all-red candy bar and Sheila even wore red shoes.
The bride is the daughter of John and Mary Elizabeth Mengel of Southport and she attended Fairfield High School. Sheila went on to attend Providence College, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in history and elementary/special education. She currently works as a manager at an investment management firm in Westport.
Michael is the son of June and David Colelli of Milford, Massachusetts.
He attended Milford High School and went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree from Providence College in political science and Italian. The groom currently works as campus recruiting at an investment management firm in Westport.