We’re getting married!

Denise and Nick’s love story all began through Kaisers Pizza in Gurnee, IL. At the time, Denise was working as a server at Kaisers while attending nursing school at St. Francis University. Nick had been hired for a summer position after graduating from Marquette University, and was in the process of studying for his CPA exams. Brittany, Denise’s friend and manager at Kaisers, told Denise one day, “We just hired a new guy, Nick. He has the most piercing blue eyes you’ve ever seen. You’re going to fall in love with him”. Denise didn’t think anything of it at the time. A couple days later a few Kaisers employees got together at a local bar after work for drinks, which was a typical ritual. Nick tagged along with a few of his friends that worked at Kaisers. Upon arriving at the bar, Denise noticed a guy (Nick) with the most piercing blue eyes. Without hesitation, and full of liquid courage, Denise approached Nick and randomly asked “Hey are you Nick?”, in which Nick responded quite confused, “Yes, and you are?” Denise said, “I am Denise, I am going to be your new coworker!” Denise and Nick spoke more that night and got to know a little bit about each other. Brittany ended up being right...Denise knew Nick was the one from that day at the bar! Denise and Nick’s relationship blossomed from that night. Nick and Denise would talk for hours during and after their shifts. Nick would even switch shifts to close with Denise at night. As Nick and Denise got a little closer, they started to have study dates together, made a few trips to Nick’s cabin up north, and became “reliable friends”.

Nick proposed on the shores of Lake Michigan in Winthrop Harbor, IL on July 12, 2020. Prior to proposing, Nick took Denise to the Tropics restaurant. Nick organized a surprise that while at dinner, their families placed rose pedals on the nearby beach area and waited to surprise them. After dinner, Nick guided Denise towards the beach area. As Denise approached, she started to become a little suspicious of what was going on. Then once she saw both our families waiting on the sand, she knew IT was happening! Nick brought Denise to the rose pedals and while the song “This is it” by Scotty McCreery played, Nick got down on one knee and asked, “Will you marry me?”. Denise obviously said, YES! Preceding the proposal, Nick had friends and family waiting back at the Tropics Restaurant to celebrate the engagement.