We met as many people in the 21st century do...through a dating app. Amanda and Nick met through Bumble, an app where the girl has to message first. After Amanda initiated the conversation, Nick continued with trying to guess correctly on her prompt "Two Truths and a Lie." Nick had guessed the lie was that she didn't have a tattoo, but the real lie was that she had never been to Disney. It just so happened that Nick was going to Disney in the next few weeks. They had wanted to meet up before his trip, so they set a date for a Friday night at Casa Azul. Amanda was still working at Buffalo Taproom at the time, as well as being a teacher, so the date was set for 9:00 pm. As most Friday nights go, Amanda didn't get out until 9:30 pm and told him she would be a little late. When Amanda got there, Nick was chowing down on some tacos and sipping on a margarita. Apparently, he decided he wouldn't eat dinner that night and couldn't hold out any longer. Despite the red flag, they had a wonderful night. They stayed out all night talking and laughing. One thing led to another, and they decided to make it official on June 30, 2019. Over the next six months, we had spent many nights and weekends together getting to know each other and introducing our friends. Naturally, all of Nick's friends had loved Amanda's sarcastic and witty personality instantly and she was soon at all of his races making new friends. When Nick met Amanda's friends, they saw that he wasn't her usual type, but something about him seemed to make her glow. Nick soon learned that her best friends, Bobbie and Soos (aka Stephanie), were going to be a package deal. Nick joined them on many different outings and began his own friendships. The couple had decided that they wanted to move in together in December 2019 since Nick's lease was up and went apartment hunting. After finding the perfect place, they moved in together in North Buffalo in January 2020. When the world shut down a few months later, they were grateful that they had been together. From the zoom calls and online games played with friends to the late night get togethers at their place, they had never managed to get sick of each other. As the world slowly went back to normal, their relationship continued to grow. Between supporting each other with new jobs and new goals, Amanda and Nick never stopped laughing. It was the morning of June 21, 2023. It was Kindergarten Graduation Day and Amanda had been up at the crack of dawn making sure that everything was perfect for her 24 students who stole her heart. She was dressed in her favorite color, did her hair and makeup, and made sure her nails were done. She even took the iron and ironing board to school to make sure her student's gowns looked perfect. The ceremony began and it went perfectly. Amanda got choked up saying goodbye to her mini best friends and they walked across the stage with smiles and hugs. As the ceremony was wrapping up, Amanda was told there was a special guest for her and they told her to get on stage. She assumed that it was Taylor, a 4th grade student who was graduating later that day that Amanda had been bonding with for the past 4 years and might even be considered one of her favorite students ever. But when the doors opened, it wasn't Taylor (or Josh Allen) walking out with the flowers...it was Nick. She knew exactly what was about to happen. In front of 350 people, most which Nick had never met before, he dropped to one knee. It was all a blur but she nodded yes and everyone cheered for them. After having to wait all day to share the news with her best friends (since someone didn't tell them for fear of spilling the beans to Amanda), they were able to share the moment with everyone as it was captured on video. In September, they celebrated with their family and friends at an engagement party at Big Ditch (one of their favorite places). And a month later they picked a location and date. Then, the countdown began to the best day.