After 13 years, we are finally tying the knot!

Hey Everyone, We hope you are all doing well! We have noticed a pattern that for us, the third time is the charm! Everything is confirmed for our 1 year vow renewal (what we are calling the "We Still Do" ceremony) and reception on Sunday, June 20, 2021. We recognize that it is Father's Day and understand if you are unable to make it. Please review the schedule for the day of for specific information about time and everything else. Thanks and we look forward to seeing you on June 20! Love, Krista and Cian

The 2006 summer season was the first year that Long Beach Township Beach Patrol (LBTBP) required every lifeguard to complete the 5-day Emergency Medical Response (EMR) course. Krista signed up for a course in May and eagerly attended with her younger sister, Kelsie. On the first day of the course, Krista and Kelsie walked into the Multi-Purpose room at Town Hall where there were 3 instructors. One of the instructors introduced himself as Cian, a recent graduate of Stockton College with a degree in marine biology. During the first day of the course, Cian instructed everyone on how to complete a head to toe physical exam. When the class was broken up into small groups, it just so happened that Krista was in the group being led by Cian, where they got to practice physical exams on each other - G-rated of course - her little sister was in the room, sheesh! ;) By the end of the course, Krista was already starting to fall for Cian when she learned that he was going to be her lieutenant that summer. What a summer it turned out to be!!

Following the EMR course, Cian became Krista's lieutenant. Every day he would stop by her stand and they would talk about various topics. Their conversations were always entertaining and enlightening. Not only would they talk regularly, they would also go on extra work-outs together. These included run-swim-run's, long ocean swims, and rows in the bay. By the end of the summer, both were experiencing romantic feelings for each other but neither wanted to admit it. At a beach badge checker barbeque, Kelsie pulled Cian behind a car and told him to ask Krista out already. Cian finally worked up the courage and asked her that night. They shared their first kiss on the beach and both saw fireworks (they actually lit the night sky - true story). They decided to date and keep it from everyone on the beach patrol. A few days after their first kiss and becoming and official couple, Cian helped Krista move into her freshman dorm at Washington College. It became challenging to stay close as Cian did not have a cell phone so they could only talk after 9 p.m. on days when he was not attending paramedic school. After about 2 months, they decided that doing a long distance relationship was not working out and decided to break up but remain friends. They remained friends and continued to work together the following summer. After obtaining his paramedic certification, Cian moved down to Florida for a job but continued to keep in touch with Krista.

In 2012, Krista decided to take a 1 week vacation in Florida prior to the start of the beach patrol season. When making her plans, she reached out to Cian to let him know that she was coming down to see if he might be able to meet up one day. He offered to let Krista stay in his apartment when she came down and she accepted his gracious offer. As soon as Krista arrived, sparks began flying. The week was filled with laughs, "stolen" cars (a.k.a., Cian got Krista's car towed), fun times, and the rekindling of romantic feelings for each other. Cian's goal was to try and get Krista out of her comfort zone every day, whether it was through trying new foods (fish = gross, key lime pie = amazing) or new activities (rock-climbing). Cian also introduced Krista to some of his friends in his PA program. The week flew by and it was soon time for Krista to pack up and begin the drive back up north. On their last night together, Krista and Cian had a big talk about where they would go with their feelings for each other. They decided that it would be better to just stay friends, due to the distance, but keep in closer touch. Though this didn't really sit well with either, both agreed to it. Krista left the next morning and Cian stayed. During that day, both Cian and Krista did a lot of thinking and talking to others about their feelings. By the time Krista finished her drive that day, both realized that they had made a stupid mistake in not moving forward with a relationship. They decided to give long distance a try and began dating. They dated for two years. Those two years were filled with many wonderful times together but one thing kept putting a strain on their relationship - the distance. Neither was willing to leave their respective home areas and communicating became a greater challenge. After feeling like they were at an impossible impasse, Krista broke up with Cian.

After almost exactly 5 years of not talking, Cian sent Krista a Facebook friend request in January 2019. Krista swore that someone had hacked into Cian's account and sent that message. There was no way that Cian would reach out after all these years. She thought that he hated her after how things had ended. She did not accept his friend request for about 3 months until one of her beach patrol friends convinced her that there was no way he was hacked. Krista accepted his friend request and then waited 2 weeks before making the next move. She sent him a text message on April 24, 2019 (at 4:38 p.m.) saying "Hey Cian! Was just at LBTBP Headquarters and was thinking about you. How's everything going?" Cian responded with, "Who is this? And hi!" They began texting again and decided to meet up for dinner on May 23, 2019 as Cian was coming up for a friend's wedding. When they met up, it was a little awkward at first as neither knew how the other felt. They began catching up and reminiscing on how things used to be. Eventually, they began discussing what happened and how they both still had very strong feelings for each other. After talking for hours, they decided to get back together. Both were ecstatic and ended the evening walking on clouds. They both knew that this was it for them, their fairy tale ending. Cian came up in August and they decided to make a weekend trip up to Niagara Falls. On Friday, August 23, 2019, Cian got down on one knee and asked Krista to marry him. She could not say "yes!" fast enough!

Cian was planning to come up to spend a long weekend and we decided to make a trip up north to Niagara Falls. We wanted to do something fun and exciting while he was in. During the drive up, Cian began asking me (again) about my preferences in an engagement ring. This was my first clue that he was planning to propose as I knew he had already purchased a ring (he is not very subtle). We arrived in Niagara Falls on Friday morning and set off for the Maid of the Mist. We took a number of pictures and then walked around for a bit, scoping out the park. After being there for a little over an hour, Cian said that he wanted to go back to the car because he left something in his bookbag. This was my second clue as Cian doesn't really take much with him, so forgetting something is rare. We walked back to the car where he proceeded to search through his bookbag. He then changed his shirt because he didn't like the one he was wearing. After changing his shirt, he squatted down as if he was tying his shoes. These were my third and fourth clues as Cian only ever wears t-shirts that he feels comfortable in and he was wearing flip-flops. When Cian was finally finished at the car, we walked back to the park. We got over towards one of the American Falls where we had been before he asked to go to the car, and Cian stated that he wanted to look and see if there were any geocaches close by. He looked at his phone for a minute and said that there was a virtual geocache in which we had to take a picture. He asked if I would mind doing the virtual cache. I acquiesced. As I was standing there waiting for him to set up his camera, I asked if I should put down my bag. He said yes, and I knew exactly what was coming. Cian finally got his camera ready and walked over. After waiting 10 seconds, posing for a picture, he said that he really loved me and got down on one knee. The rest is history. P.S. I also saw the ring box in his pocket when we were walking away from the car :)