Our story is a little different than the typical love story where people meet, date, fall in love and get married. Nick and I grew up in the same church and have known of each other for most of our lives. In middle school and high school we were friends with the same people and in the same friend groups but were never truly friends until later. The first time I remember talking to him was the beginning of 2014, I was a sophomore at Pelham High School and Nick was a junior. Prom season was starting to roll around and our friends thought it would be a great idea for Nick to take me to his junior prom. We started to text and get to know each other. ( I would LOVE to go back and read how awkward those texts were, however Nick is very thankful that we cannot find them.) At the time we were both very shy and avoided talking in person. I had been told that he was interested in me, but I had my eyes on someone else. We tried to connect but it all seemed very forced and did not feel right. It turned out that the weekend of their prom I had a dance competition out of town so I was not available to go with him (He likes to claim that I turned him down, when he never even officially asked me). I think we were both secretly happy that we did not have to face the awkwardness that prom probably would have been, however I do wonder what could have come if I have given him a chance back then. Fast forward two and a half years later, I had gone off to Troy for college and Nick had dropped out of college and was working for a semester before going into the marines. We had run into each other at a few church events that fall and talked briefly but never really connected until we chaperoned a youth retreat together one weekend. The retreat was Saturday through Monday but Nick and I along with a few other adults went down on Friday night to set up. We spent a lot of that night just hanging out and getting to know each other.

The rest of the weekend we spent as much time together as possible, but that was not our focus for the weekend. When Monday came around, I went back to Troy and he went home. We grew closer as friends that weekend but that is all that came from it. I did not see or talk to Nick again until that December at church when I was home for Christmas break. We were leaving church one Sunday when he asked if I was going to the church Christmas program that night, I had not been planning on going but offered to go with him when he told me he was looking for someone to go with him. Once again, nothing came from this we both just saw it as friends hanging out. That year on Christmas Day, I sent him a snapchat which led to us staying in touch. The good part of the story starts the week after Christmas that year, 2016, when we were in our best friends’ wedding together. Since we had been staying in touch I decided to ask him for a ride to the wedding rehearsal which was about an hour away and boy was I nervous for that car ride. At that point I would say we were both interested but still very hesitant due to the fact that he was leaving for the marines in less than a month. Besides being super nervous, we had a great time together in the car and at the rehearsal dinner, I stuck to his side as much as I could. On the day of the wedding we spent as much time together as possible. I waited for a slow dance song to be played to see if he would ask me to dance but sadly they never played one. When it was time to leave, I was supposed to go home with my family but of course found a reason for him to take me home. The following Sunday me, my mom, and my grandmother were going to eat lunch after church and my mother insisted that I invite him because “he acted like he wanted to go”, so I did and he came to lunch with me, my mom and my grandmother. The fact that he willing came to lunch with all of my family before we were even dating showed me that this boy was really interested.

Later that week, he finally worked up the nerve to ask me to hangout, but what he didn’t know is that my friend (who is now my bridesmaid) was spending the night at my house. I told him that I couldn’t go because she was at my house but he insisted that we all go. After we spent hours hanging out that night, I knew that I was in trouble because I really liked this boy but I also he knew he was leaving for bootcamp in less than a month. I took him about a week of us hanging out for him to build up the courage to kiss me. After he kissed me we talked and decided that we wanted to see where this would go but did not want to make it official yet. We were very hesitant to make it official because with him leaving for boot camp soon, we knew this was a very big decision. After about another week of spending time together, I decided that I wanted to officially date him, even if it meant dealing with long distance for 4 years. We made it official on January 14, 2017 and spent a week together before he left for bootcamp for the Marine Corp for three months. Three months of only being able to communicate by letter was tough but we made through and came out stronger. After boot camp, we got to spend a week together at home, this is when he first told me that he loved me. After that Nick went to Pensacola, FL and then to Virginia before finally getting stationed in Beaufort, SC. While in Beaufort, we took every opportunity we had and made the best of the few long weekends we had together. On our one year anniversary Nick gave me a promise ring to signify that he wanted to marry me one day, I gladly excepted knowing that this is the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We continued to see each other as much as possible but it was only about one weekend every other month.

We got engaged in May of 2019 and he completely surprised me (if you know me, you know how hard it is to pull a surprise off on me). At that point we had been dating a little over two years, we had talked about getting engaged soon but I was convinced that he would be proposing that July because he was leaving for deployment that August. We got engaged while we were on a cruise with my family. The day of the proposal was May 28th, 2019, we spent the day on a beach in the Bahamas. That night was formal night on the ship, so we got all dressed up and went to the helipad to take pictures. We took a bunch of pictures and when we were about to go back inside, Nick grabbed my hand and asked me to take a picture in the middle of the helipad. When we walked out there I quickly thought “what if he is about to propose?” but I was convinced that he didn’t even have a ring yet so when he looked at me and said “I have a question to ask you” I was shocked. I was in such shock that I cannot even remember what all he said. After he proposed a cruise shipped that was docked beside us cheered for us, which we thought was so cool. Four months later, Nick left for 6 month deployment to Japan and just like boot camp this was tough, but we came out strong than ever. Thankfully he got home from deployment the day before the world shut down due to corona and shorty after he moved back home and we got to say goodbye to long distance after over three years of it. I cannot wait to start out lives together!

Emily and I have known each other for as long as I can remember. We grew up together in the church and had some of the same friends but never really talked to each other. My junior year I wanted Emily to go to prom with me but she would not. After that we didn’t talk all that much and I graduated and went off to college. In 2016 we attended a Fall retreat as chaperones together. The first day and night of the retreat we were together all the time. We talked a lot and during those talks I began to start have feelings for her. Me being super shy, I did not know what to say to her so I said nothing. Looking back on that weekend I really regret keeping quiet. After that we started to spend more time with each other. We attended a church Christmas event and sat together. A lot of people asked if we were dating to which I answered no. The next big thing we did together was a friends wedding. She knew I was driving down there and asked of she could ride with me. I was shocked when she asked me but jumped on the chance to get more time with her. We were glued to each other that entire weekend. About a week later, I finally decided to ask her to get dinner with me but I had no idea that mutual friend was spending the night at her house. I was not actually expecting her to say yes so when she did I jumped on the chance. All three of us went and we spent hours hanging out. At that point in my life I had already decided to enlist in the Marine Corp and was leaving for boot camp in less than a month and didn’t know if she wanted to deal with all of that. We continued to spend a lot of time together so I asked her what she wanted to do. She said that she could handle the distance and we both wanted to give this a try. I was so happy when she said the she was willing to give us a try. We made it through bootcamp which was very difficult, the only way we could communicate was by letters. During the first two weeks my letters got lost, and I was the only person not getting any.

When they finally came the first letter I got was from Emily, her letter was the most uplifting thing I received the entire 3 months. After boot camp I went to school houses in Florida and Virginia, and then got stationed in South Carolina. We made time to see each other when possible but it was very rare. While in South Carolina I would get long weekends and race to troy to spend as much time with her as I could. The first time she came to my base was for our 1 year anniversary and I had bought her a promise ring. I was hesitant to give it to her because I wasn’t sure what she would say. Thankfully she said she was ready for the commitment which kind of scared me. After we had been dating for 2 years I decided that she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I never knew how hard it was to pick out an engagement ring. Picking out the ring was one of the most nerve racking things I have ever done, I was so concerned with picking the perfect one. Once I had finally found the right one the next problem was her dad. I finally got my opportunity before I deployed. I went with her family on a cruise to the Bahamas. While we were on the way to Miami her dad and I shared a hotel room. I went to the room early that night saying that I was really tired. However I made the mistake of continuing to snapchat Emily, and she got very mad at me for “going to bed early” but not actually going to sleep. Until the proposal this was the most nervous I had ever been. When I asked her dad the first response I got was “are you kidding me?”. After the shock wore off he gave his blessing and the plan to surprise Emily went into motion. I didn’t want to propose on her birthday because I knew she would be expecting it. To make sure her nosy self did not find the ring, I gave it to her mom to hold onto while going through security to get on the ship. Once on the ship her dad and I scouted a place, we pretended to go and play pool to get away from Emily to scout.

After a short game and conversation about where to propose we walked around the ship. We eventually ended up on the helicopter deck. The problem was we were sailing and the wind was terrible. I ended up deciding that I would do it while we were in port. The best part of the heli-pad was that it was secluded but she loved to take pictures there as a kid so it would be easy to get her there without raising any suspension. We spent the day of the proposal on a beach in the Bahamas, that day it was so hard to have a good time when all I was thinking about was what was going to happen that afternoon. It was formal night which was perfect because it was an excuse to be all dressed up. Before we left the room for pictures I gave the ring to her dad so he could hold it while we all took pictures. That turned out to be a good idea because she jokingly patted the outside of my jacket to see if I had a ring box. During the pictures I was a nervous wreck. As Emily and her sister took pictures at the end her dad handed me the ring. Right before I proposed my nervousness was gone, and I was more excited than anything else. I told her I wanted to take a picture in the center. After the first one she tried to walk away and I grabbed her hand and proposed. After she said yes a group on another cruise ship had been watching from the deck and cheered and surprised both of us. I have never been more in love than I was when she said yes. Once the cruise was done I went back to South Carolina and came home a few months later so we could have our engagement party and start the wedding planning. That August I deployed to Japan for 6 months. Without her in my life during that time it would have been a terrible 6 months. When I got back to the states she was the first person I saw. We spent a little less than a week together before she had to go back home. A few weeks later I got orders home and have been home ever since. I cannot wait to start the next chapter of our life together!