It was 2019 and Akanksha was nursing a knee sprain from a recent trip to Miami. Her friends convinced her to go out in DC instead of spending another night on the couch. So she put on a brave face, found a knee brace, a hefty pair of boots and headed out. Across the bridge Marco made the same plans with his friends, picked his favorite Stetson hat and headed out. He spotted a girl in a knee brace across the dance floor looking less than enthused and decided to go cheer her up. She thought "why is he wearing a top hat at a nightclub? interesting.. maybe I should talk to him.." and so their story began.

Marco planned the first date, he wanted it to be a surprise for Akanksha. Six months had passed since their first meeting and life/work had gotten in the way. He planned a picnic at a park by the water on a beautiful summer day and picked up pasta and wine from an Italian restaurant nearby. They spent three hours chatting over pasta and wine, and have been enjoying picnics together ever since.

It was 2022, and we were planning our first big vacation since COVID-19 had started - a two week trip through Texas. There were a lot of decisions to make - from hotels to restaurant reservations to car rentals. Little did Akanksha know that Marco had been working on a secret mission to pick the perfect engagement ring. It was the first day of our trip and we decided to go on a midnight stroll on the now quiet San Antonio Riverwalk. While Akanksha was enjoying the view on Rosita's Bridge, Marco got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Akanksha said " you are not doing this!" and then she promptly said yes.