S & M

Dating in this era isn't anything like traditions in the past. You don't meet your future partner in the meat aisle of a grocery store or you sure don't court anyone since dating in this day and age is like the longest chess game of your life. From the start of our relationship, it has been a journey when I thought every time we hit our peak of love growing, it only continues to blossom with each passing day. When you hear couples, say "oh, my wife/husband is my best friend", I used to think that was a complete and utter lie. But now? I turned into one of those exact people who I used to look at as if they were complete nutters. I found my best friend who gets me, and I get him. I love sharing my day with him and spending each waking hour of the day with him. I cannot think of any other person I'd love to adventure around the earth with and couldn't imagine my life without him. So, when I accepted his proposal, there wasn't any hesitation in my mind. The answer is always yes to him and I can't wait to see what our future holds. -Melissa

The day I met Melissa, I had no clue I was meeting my future wife for the first time. It started with a simple swipe right on Bumble, an app where the female has 24 hours to respond. I don’t know why I did it, but I decided to use an extend feature and she messaged me back. We decided to meet for dinner 2 days later. When I show up for my date, she is nowhere to be found. I called her and she was still at home lol. I practically had to beg her to Uber to the restaurant for our date because she apparently had some previous “rough” dates. When she finally showed up at the restaurant, she was dressed down in a comfy floral shirt and jeans. She was definitely a cutie. We preceded to get along like "lamb and tuna fish" (Inside Joke) and laughed the night away. Apparently making a girl laugh during the first date will get you a second date. From that good night kiss, I knew there was something special about this girl. My birthday was about a week later and she baked me a cake that looked exactly like my surfboard and it even had the logos on it. That sealed the deal for me right there and I knew me and her would be together forever. - Steven

After spending some time away, the phrase "distance makes the heart grow fonder" became true. I came home to find the most beautiful girl in the world to me. Sometimes you don’t realize how special someone is until you’re away from them. It was right then & there, I KNEW I was going to ask her to marry me. You see, I had planned a getaway that we do every year for her birthday to a place called Castlewood Cottages which is an extremely magical place for us. Castle Wood is a place with fairytale-themed cottages & I KNEW this was the place I needed to ask her. I had zero plans on how to do this or what I was going to say because, in my head, I kept going back & forth between things. When we arrived at Castle Wood, I hadn’t even opened the package the ring came in & hadn't even seen the ring yet. I had to muster up all the courage I had in me because I was literally shaking. I knew she’d say yes, but a proposal is a big deal. With her waiting for the clerk, I was able to sneak away back to the car, rip open the package & get the ring in my pocket. In my head, I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to do this. I needed it filmed as I wanted it to be a memory we had forever. After checking in, the female clerk pulled me aside and asked if I was still going to do it (since I called ahead of time and apparently many people have chickened out in the past). I told her absolutely and she filmed us walking into our room, The Enchanted Forrest. With no plans in mind on how to do this, I improvised. We walked in, and then it hit me, I knew the proposal had to be done down the stairs surrounding by faux foliage and rock waterfalls. This was one of the scariest & best moments of my life getting down on my knee, asking the woman of my dreams to marry me. She said ...yes. As I put the ring on her finger, her excitement slapped the ring case out of my hand, I stood up and we kissed. I can honestly say, this was the best night of my life. -Steven