Real talk - if you didn’t know: we were introduced to one another online. Nick’s match.com membership was expiring so we started to get to know each other via text shortly after Nick’s family returned from their trip to Germany. Also Becca got in a car accident on the way to their first date.... turning the wrong way down a street in the opposite direction of the restaurant while doing her makeup. It really says a lot about her sense of direction and feelings on first impressions. Except then she was late. She texted Nick to give him a heads up & he offered to meet her at the accident, which really says a lot about the kind of person he is. Regardless of the potentially being “stood up vibes,” Nick waited a few more minutes and Becca eventually pulled into the parking lot with her front end smashed in. While we can laugh about it now, we also hope to carry the same level of commitment to & consideration of one another into our marriage even when we’re thrown an inevitable curve ball (proverbial car accident).

The original plan was to go to a nice dinner in the Theatre district in downtown Buffalo, Nick to ask Becca to marry him on Main Street, then go to a show at Shea's. Unfortunately, this was in March 2020 - the same week that New York state shutdown due to the pandemic of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The day before the show, Shea's cancelled all shows and our plans (and Nick’s prep)! We went into lockdown and Nick wanted to do something more special for the proposal than in the spot we hadn't left in weeks. He planned a day trip out to Letchworth State Park in May, and hoped to find a good location there. There were more people at the park than expected. In retrospect, Nick admits he should have recognized people would take advantage of the good weather and outdoors to escape lockdown for a minute. So alas, the moment didn't happen and he was back to the drawing board. Luckily, our good friends (Eric + Kim - you're the best!) invited us to their new house for the 4th of July, which gave Nick the opportunity to plan a stop on our trip in Albany to break up the drive. We checked into our hotel and headed out into the city to go exploring. We walked down to the Corning Preserve park along the Hudson and asked Becca for her hand in front of the small amphitheater on the large compass in the path (pictured above). He feels lucky she said yes! Afterwards we headed up to the City Beer Hall and had a great dinner together before retiring to our hotel to call our families.