Mel and David met in 2016, about six months after Mel moved to St. Pete from St. Louis. She had just started a job at Seahags Bar & Grill, and on her very first training shift, was paired with none other than David. The Seahags crew often hung out after work, and it wasn’t long before Mel and David bonded, especially after discovering they share the same birthday, August 14th. Not long after, David asked if he could take Mel to her first Tampa Bay Lightning game if he got her shift covered. Coincidentally, the Lightning were playing her favorite team, the St. Louis Blues. They went, had a blast, and realized the date was Valentine’s Day and their “half birthdays.” That night, David “jokingly” asked if that made Mel his Valentine. From there, things took off. Within a few weeks, they were going on dates all around the Tampa Bay area, and by early March, they were officially a couple. Fun fact: their wedding date — March 1, 2026 — will mark exactly 10 years together, as well as Mel’s MawMaw’s 89th birthday. A couple of years later, they moved in together with their good friend (and now officiant!), Logan Zoiti, until he got a place of his own right down the road. In October 2023, while traveling through Italy, David proposed. The trip took them from Rome to the Amalfi Coast and finally to Sicily, where David’s grandfather was from. After a perfect day of swimming to a nearby island and indulging in incredible Italian food, David proposed on a quiet beach near their hotel — just the two of them. They celebrated with David’s parents later that evening, and the next night, they enjoyed a spontaneous engagement dinner with their Italian family. It was intimate, unforgettable, and perfectly them. They spent their first year of engagement simply soaking it all in. And then… hurricane season hit — so planning took a little longer than expected. But now, the date is set, and they’re all in. Let the countdown begin! 🥂