After attending college at two different schools in Ohio, Michael and I met during our last semester of senior year while studying abroad in Lithuania. Crazy right?! I love always to tell the story because it is so clear to me now how God really orchestrated it all. There was something so comforting about Michael as a person that made me want to be around him. I always found myself wanting to walk by his side on all our group outings. We stayed up late many nights with our friends, watching movies, chatting, and planning our next big adventure. But somehow, Michael and I always ended up late talking. He was the best companion and I know he always will be. Us, along with our other American classmates, traveled the world together during that four months in Lithuania. We made the most of those weekends and every day was truly an adventure. This adventure would not have been the same without Michael by my side. His constant support and encouragement of me was something I cherished. And I am so excited to stand by him for the rest of my life.

On a lovely Saturday morning in August, I took Victoria to Ocean Grove Beach on the east coast. This beach was one she'd been to many times growing up, and the two of us had already made memories here. My plan had originally been to propose ON the beach. Unfortunately, everyone else in New Jersey also realized that this was a very lovely Saturday morning for a beach day. My backup plan of proposing at the Ocean Grove Church involved us walking 20 more minutes in the sun, only to find more people there! I tried to employ a bit of quick thinking and had us walk around the side of the church, and then finally, I got down on one knee and asked the love of my life to marry me. We were both crying, sharing our special moment together when suddenly there were two other random people walking by sharing it with us. Despite all that happened, it was still perfect. Victoria and I couldn't be happier to start a life together. We're so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you.