Anastasia Frank and Eric Bruggemann: A Couple With High Production Values
The New York Times
By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI
JAN. 28, 2017
Anastasia Sofia Frank and Eric Hall Bruggemann were married Jan. 27 at Strawberry Fields in Central Park. Elizabeth Alanis, a friend of the bride and a minister of the American Marriage Ministries, officiated.
The bride, who is 33 and is taking her husband’s name, is an operations manager for investment and corporate banking in the New York office of the Bank of Montreal. She graduated from Princeton and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in film production from New York University. She is the daughter of Janet R. Veale of Monticello, N.Y., and Christopher Frank of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The groom, 48, is a New York-based producer and editor for television and film. He is a founding partner of Scissor Kick Films and the founder of Syzygy Pictures, both film production companies in New York. He produced the feature documentary “Sunshine Superman,” which was chosen as an opening night film at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and was released worldwide in 2015 via Magnolia Pictures, Universal Pictures and CNN. He graduated from Occidental College. He is a son of Judith S. Bruggemann and Charles J. Bruggemann of Rochester Hills, Mich.
The couple met in July 2015 while working at Jigsaw Productions, a television and film production company in New York. The groom was a member of the postproduction team for Amazon Prime’s “The New Yorker Presents” series, and the bride was a member of the postproduction team for the A&E series “The Killing Season.” Between both production teams, there was a single coffee pot to be found in a small kitchen, where the story of Ms. Frank and Mr. Bruggemann began. “There was something profound and instantaneous about first meeting Anastasia, and I do not think it had anything to do with how desperately in need of coffee I was at the time,” Mr. Bruggemann said. “Beyond her bright eyes and beaming smile, I experienced something intensely kinetic and tactile when we first spoke.” Ms. Frank said it was an “utterly stunning encounter.” “I found him so luscious and present,’’ she added, “I immediately decided there must be something wrong with him.”
As the weeks unfolded, Mr. Bruggemann’s treks to the small kitchen for coffee became more frequent, as did his conversations with Ms. Frank. Two months later, they went on a first date to Luke’s Lobster, a restaurant in the financial district, and “a conversation began that felt like it would never end,” Mr. Bruggemann said. Two days later, they went on a second date, and the next day, Mr. Bruggemann left for Norway to attend the premiere of “Sunshine Superman.” He made sure, however, to call Ms. Frank from Oslo on her birthday, a few days before flying back to New York. Just before Thanksgiving, their productions wrapped on the same day. After saying their long weekend goodbyes in front of a Duane Reade store, Ms. Frank involuntarily blurted out, “I love you,” and then immediately apologized for “confessing something so true, so soon,” she said.
Mr. Bruggemann returned the “I love you” immediately upon his return from the Thanksgiving break, and their relationship began taking flight. In September 2016, he proposed to her at a restaurant in the West Village. He didn’t notice the couple next to them had been fighting all evening. But as they were leaving, they noticed the arguing couple were now smiling. “They asked if they could take a picture of us,” Mr. Bruggemann said. After stepping outside onto a quiet side street, Ms. Frank turned to Mr. Bruggemann and said, “Now that we’re alone, would you please ask me again?” This time, only a full moon was witness.
— The New York Times, January 28, 2017.
