Melissa and Andrew were set up for Senior Ball in 2014 by a mutual friend; they were both eager to find a cute and fun date! Melissa recalls Andrew being shy at first, but felt like she was swept off her feet at Senior Ball. Andrew asked Melissa to be his girlfriend on the Fourth of July that summer; Melissa was hesitant due to the fact they were both starting college in the fall, but threw caution to the wind and both dove head first into their relationship. Despite Melissa being in San Francisco at SFSU and Andrew being in San Ramon at Los Positas College, they made the distance work for 4 years. They even wrote hand written letters back and forth during their freshman year, which is how Andrew first declared his love for her...Melissa still has the letter to this day. After Melissa moved back home at the end of Nursing School and soon after graduated with her Bachelor's in Nursing, they thought their time doing long distance was over. Little did they know, their practice doing distance in college would prepare them for what was to come next: Melissa's big adventure to the Centennial State, Colorado, for her first nursing job in 2019. Andrew and Melissa would spend the next two years flying to visit one another every chance they could get, while Andrew finished up his Bachelor's in Kinesiology at San Jose State University. Then the pandemic hit. Melissa was in the thick of it doing bedside nursing; her former Orthopedic unit was deemed the "COVID unit" and cared for strictly COVID patients. She then transferred to the Intensive Care Unit where she found her passion caring for critical patients, including those still suffering and dying from COVID. Andrew was her rock through it all-he moved in with her into her studio apartment in Summer 2020 for 2 months while his schooling had transitioned to online learning. It was during that time which solidified everything for the two of them-they knew if they could make it living in a cramped studio apartment together during an International Pandemic, they could survive anything! Soon after Andrew graduated, he sacrificed being close to family, included his niece and nephew, as well as his friends and moved in with Melissa in a 1 bedroom apartment in Denver, Colorado. Shortly after arriving, Andrew was hired as the Program Engagement Director for the YMCA and grew to love the mountain air. A few months later, they adopted their first pet together, a PittBull/Labrador mix which they renamed Indiana (after Indiana Jones), and he became their lifeline in Colorado. Fast forward to December 14, 2022, Melissa had just gotten off her last shift before they drove back to California for Christmas, she opened the door to their apartment to find her future husband in a room full of beautiful lights, rose petals, and snow while Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Michael Buble` version of course) played in the background. Neither of them will ever forget this moment; the moment Andrew asked Melissa to be his wife, to which she exclaimed "Yes, of course I'll marry you!" The next few weeks would be a whirlwind, celebrating their engagement with an impromptu party which they will never forget! It is during this trip that solidified their suspicion that it was time to move back to their home state of California. The following months were spent slowly saying goodbye to the life and home they had created together in Colorado, and in September 2023 Melissa accepted an RN position in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital of Orange County. They shortly after moved to Irvine, CA where they are both happily settled close to family and friends. Andrew was hired as the Recreational League Coordinator for Liverpool FC and is enjoying his work-life balance. We can't wait to start this next chapter of their lives together! Thank you to our families and friends who have supported us through our 10 year journey to become Husband and Wife, we truly could not have done it without you.