In late July of 2016, we met on a Royal Caribbean cruise in the Bahamas. Despite meeting in the middle of the ocean hundreds of miles away from home, we found out that we grew up only a mile away from each other in Bel Air, Maryland. It felt like fate. We spent the rest of the cruise together - watching the stars on the lido deck and attending the cruise ship events. We have been inseparable ever since.

For our seven year anniversary, we went on a trip to Greece. While on the island of Paros, Joe worked with a local proposal coordinator to plan a beautiful proposal. Kaitlyn thought we were going to dinner. Little did she know, Joe coordinated with the hotel concierge to recommend going to Stefano beach, a narrow beach strip surrounded by water and mountains, before dinner. Once we arrived to the beach, we "stumbled" across a bottle in the sand with a note. Kaitlyn opened the note, which read "Kaitlyn, Will You Marry Me? Love, Joe." As she looked up, Joe was getting down on one knee. A local photographer captured this beautiful moment. We celebrated the night by watching the sunset and drinking champagne on a blanket surrounded by flowers.