William and Marissa grew up less than 3 hours apart, in Avon, Massachusetts and East Hartland, Connecticut. They even attended universities whose ROTC programs both participated in an annual competition in New Jersey, and they were at that competition at the same time in 2017. Yet, somehow, they did not meet until they moved 5,000 miles away to Fairbanks, Alaska with the military. They met at a mutual friend’s house in early spring 2020, and bonded over their New England roots and sarcastic humor. Neither can actually remember their first official date, but they suspect it was an outing to a dirt track to watch one of their soldiers crash into the wall on the first turn. They spent the next 2 years exploring Alaska and navigating military life with their two dogs, Bastila and Harley. William proposed on August 9, 2022, on an evening beach walk in Kenai, Alaska, after waiting the entirety of the full 2-week vacation and effectively convincing Marissa it wasn’t going to happen. William likes to say that Marissa “ruined” it by being anxious over the rising tide and making them turn around earlier than usual; Marissa likes to say that she’s glad he didn’t set up a photographer, because she was wearing men’s sweatpants and a poncho. They were married on October 7, 2022 at a local park, in a beautiful elopement-turned-mini-wedding, surrounded by over 30 wonderful friends. As a throwback to Covid, they even had it livestreamed via Zoom for all the friends and family across the country to be “present” as well. They left Alaska in April 2024 on a cross-country adventure to Alabama, where they will be until the end of November 2024. They cannot wait to finally celebrate their marriage with you this December in the New England area that brought them together, before their next adventure begins in Kansas in 2025!