We met in Arizona due to a delayed layover. We were both headed to Honolulu and ended up seated next to one another at the gate. John turned to Nicole and said hi.

Nicole just completed her paralegal certificate and was ready for some change. Originally the plan was for John to move to Philly, but due to his education goals, Nicole moving to Hawaii was the best option. They moved together into a townhome in beautiful Hawaii Kai with a sweet family. John worked at a research center in Maunawili and Nicole worked at a law firm in Honolulu.

Nicole was getting homesick and a little bit of island fever. John knew a kitten that was living in a field by his lab in Kunia. One day he called up Nicole while she was at work and asked "can I bring a kitten home?" Lani moved into their place that day.

John had an excellent opportunity to earn his master's degree in Colorado, and we immediately took up the offer. Within a few days we were packed up with our fur baby and on our way to beautiful Fort Collins. Nicole got a job in Fort Collins as a paralegal and John worked full time at his school doing research and as a teaching assistant.

John and Nicole's family surprised her with a 30th birthday party in Virginia. John then offered up an even bigger surprise when he drove her up to Philly, her favorite city. He brought her to the same place where they had their first Philly date, and right before dessert he got on one knee and presented a classy six-prong solitaire. The entire restaurant erupted into applause and congratulations! The restaurant gave us a very cute personalized dessert after that.

An attorney in Wyoming reached out to Nicole, so Nicole took on the new job. This was an awesome new job and Nicole was very happy about it, but it meant that Lani would be pretty lonely for most of the day, because John also works a lot. Nicole and John searched for a while for the perfect companion for Lani, but the new Wyoming job was the breaking point. Lani needed a friend. So they drove to a rescue foster mom in Denver and obtained the most perfect kitten friend for Lani, Lulu. Lulu is nuts and came from Pueblo, Colorado.

John and Nicole looked at places in three states for three years, at a loss of what to do. If we had the wedding in Pennsylvania, that would be unfair to those in North Carolina. If we did it in Virginia, that wouldn't feel right because we have no real love for the state itself. If we did it in Colorado, we would feel guilty for doing that to our friends and family. Ultimately though, Colorado is a place that we absolutely adore. It feels right and we understand if people can't make it. We did plan it in a way that people wouldn't regret traveling for our wedding though. We picked GORGEOUS Boulder.

Nicole wasn't planning on picking a dress this day. She was doing some errands and decided to stop by a little local bridal boutique on the way. She stepped in and said, "do you have any dresses in my price range?" They said no (it was a fancy dancy store), but then they stopped for a moment and said, "Wait! Come upstairs. We might be able to find something." Upstairs Nicole immediately gravitated towards a stunning dress by Wilderly Bride. When she tried it on, it was perfect. Every detail had a little piece of her personality.

As you all know, COVID-19 is canceling everything! That aside, it cannot cancel John and Nicole's love. Nor do they wish to postpone the wedding, because they aren't sure how long this crisis will last. As they've done in the past with many curveballs, they decided to roll with the punches. They will be marrying at a cabin in Golden, Colorado with only the officiant, photographer, a friend with a video camera, and an extra friend for good luck.