It was December of 2017 and John found himself with a broken right leg, unable to drive himself places. As he was recovering, he decided to try Tinder to get his dating life back on track. Nicole found herself downloading the app for the first time, swearing to anyone who would listen that she would NEVER actually date anyone from this app, she just wanted the Universe to know she was ready for a relationship. When they matched, John sent the first message. Now, it's important to note that Nicole was watching Lost, and had managed to avoid show spoilers all these years. In fact, this very information was in her Tinder bio! As John took it upon himself to send that first message, he wrote, "Lost? You know they all die at the end, right?" Aghast, Nicole messaged back. "There is no way you're serious right now," she wrote. And for some reason, back and forth they went until John asked for her number. Despite John's clumsy opening, Nicole agreed. They texted for a few weeks, through the bustling holiday season. After some time, Nicole mentioned the dreaded "Tinder Fizzle." If they didn't meet soon, the spark would disappear! So Nicole drove to John's to pick him up, where he was waiting outside of his house, with crutches, a plaid lumberjack hat, and the most beautiful smile Nicole had ever seen. The two agree that their first meeting in person was unforgettable. Nicole picked John up early enough to avoid the ice, ensuring he wouldn't be a danger to himself on crutches. He says when he opened the passenger door and saw her warm smile and felt her loving energy, he knew he was starting to fall in love. Their first date was at The Dublin House around 3 in the afternoon, and Nicole promised to get him home before the sidewalks froze over, but before they knew it the bar was ringing last call. They fell in love a bit that night. The spark had lit, compounded with things like spilled tequila, crutching through the kitchen entrance of a restaurant pretending to know the workers so the two of them could avoid the freezing cold, gum stuck in Nicole's hair, dragging Nicole to Urban Outfitters to get a Christmas gift for Billy, “Can I see you again tomorrow?” "Can I tell my parents about you?" “I feel like I’m going to know you for the rest of my life…” And of course, endless joy and laughter. And so the story goes, chatting here and there, circling the inevitable connection they had until one night in Asbury Park, after not speaking for a while, John walked right in front of Nicole on the line to Asbury Ale House. Nicole watched until he noticed she was staring, and the rest is history. The two built their love on New Jersey seashores, sand and surfboards and sun, long drives and sunsets, new 1975, Taco Bell and a boundless connection that proves, if nothing else, that soulmates are real and true and that they are the luckiest two people on the planet.

JOHN'S VERSION: The day I met Nicole I knew I wanted to marry her. When she asks me why, or what made me think that way, I could say her beauty or her kindness, but it was everything. We all know she picked me up when my leg was broken, and that meant a lot to me. The ring took a while. The whole solitaire thing with a big diamond on an actual gold band...this whole thing threw the jeweler into haywire. They went nuts. I had to call corporate, I had to talk to managers, it was a whole thing. So then I got the right ring, and then I threw everyone into high alert. Because we were on vacation with Nicole's family in Cape May when I decided I wanted to ask her when we got back. I think I discussed the date with Trish, and we got it pretty concrete, and then I texted my family. I think we had 72 hours. Finding the right spot was also crazy. I always had a plan to do it at the Twin Lights. My niece Sarah and I went to scout it and it was totally overgrown. There were lantern flies everywhere. We needed an Omaha Plan. We said ok, let's try Hartshorne. We hiked for 3 hours and 15 miles when Sarah suggested we try Deep Cut Gardens. It was perfect, so from there we ran to ShopRite and Costco and all over town to get everything we needed. The plan was that Sarah, Rachel, and Landon would be my secret ninjas in this whole process. Sarah was on photo, Landon was on video camera, Rachel was on flowers and champagne. Everything is in place, I pick Nicole up, but everyone needed a little more time to get ready at my house. So I pretended to get lost in my own town to really throw her off. I took her across the street to Tatum Park for a hike. We started on this hiking trail and I had never been on it before, so I actually had no idea how long the hike was going to be. I just went with my gut. Suddenly Sarah texted me, "Call me now." I pretended to go to the bathroom to call Sarah. She said, "Uncle John, there's a pop up wedding in the spot you wanted to propose to Nicole. But it's ok, we found another spot. Meet us at the koi pond." I had no idea where the koi pond was. I was looking around the park for water, hoping there would be a koi fish in it, when I found the flowers Rachel left for me. And in that moment, I knelt down on one knee and said, "You know I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" and then she said, "REALLY?!" and then, "Yes! Of course!!!" We drove back to my house, where everyone surprised her and us, and ate, drank, and celebrated with our families. NICOLE’S VERSION: John and I had been talking about being engaged since about the end of our first year together, so I always knew it was coming. He’d ask me informally, I have emails and texts and handwritten notes that literally say, “Will you marry me?” Last July, my family was on our annual Cape May vacation, which John has joined since our third year together. A couple of days into the trip, John said to me, "When we're done with this trip, we should spend some time alone together," which immediately had my alarm bells ringing. He then said, "We can go on a hike. And I'll pick you up, and we'll get some dinner after." Then the next day in the ocean: "We have a big weekend ahead of us!" I tried not to be presumptuous. I assumed we were just going for a hike, maybe John was trying to honor what I'd said about quality time, maybe he was driving 30 minutes to my house to pick me up so we can drive 30 minutes back to his house just for the fun of it. John, to his credit, tried to throw me off with, "Sarah is down at the beach house with Aunt Dorothy!" and "My parents are going down to meet them for dinner!" And as we strolled through Deep Cut Gardens, despite my gut feeling, nothing prepares you for what it really feels like when the love of your life asks you to marry him. Nothing will ever compare to that feeling of being on literal Cloud 9. If I could relive that day one million times, I would again and again.