12 Years and 2 Kids in the Making .. In 2007, Justin and Melissa met at an interview Melissa went on for Carrabbas. Justin opened the kitchen door in the good ole Springfield Mall Carrabbas, and there she was! After some time, Justin finally asked Melissa on a date .. to see Superbad. It wasn't until 2-months later that Melissa cried on the beach in Mexico, because Justin still hadn't asked her to be his girlfriend. Needless to say, Justin thought that was ridiculous because he said “why would we be on vacation together if you weren't my girlfriend, you idiot!”. And there you have it - love. Surprisingly enough we still really enjoy each anothers company!

Here's the deal: Justin didn't even know he was going to proposal that day. Just your typically Sunday afternoon, June 3rd 2018 - beautiful sunny weather, floating in French Creek with a couple of beers. After a day of drinking beers and floating in the creek, it was time for Seamus to take a bath. Melissa was bathing Seamus and Justin was getting ready to shower. Then Justin, as he typically does, puts on some music for his shower - Ray LaMontagne: a standard in the Bates household. Melissa said, you know what, this is the kind of time to propose, Justin! *of course, this was the 1,000x she had told him he needed to propose* So Justin leaves the bathroom (because he was just in his underwear) and came back a couple minutes later - this time with pants on ... Then Justin says, "So, what's up ... you wanna get married or something?" (that's word for word what he said) and of course Melissa yells at him and says, "YES JUSTIN! I’ve been asking you forever." He then gave Melissa her Nana's wedding ring, *Melissa in hysterical tears*, and said "alright, let's get married then". And that, my friends, was how it actually happened.

Melissa grew up in Upper Darby. Following her passion for plants after high school, Melissa enrolled at Penn State (the greatest school ever). You can now find Melissa designing beautiful landscapes in West Chester, PA. When she’s not working, Melissa shops at Target, drinks wine on the deck, and listening to catchy emo music.

Justin grew up in Lansdowne and is the oldest (and best looking) of 5 siblings. After some time working 2 jobs (carrabbas + landscaping), Justin cashed in his dreams and took a leap and started Bates Landscaping. Now 7 years later, hes happier than ever working 75 hours a week LOL. Justins hobbies are; going to work, thinking about work, working, and dreams about work.