Say You'll Share With Me One Love, One Lifetime

Alyssa and Brandon met on a cruise at the end of August. For the most part, she was focused on drinking and reading her book. On the very first day of the cruise, her sister Lauren dragged her to Bingo where the couple met. When he saw her, he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen on the ship. He tried to think of how he could get her attention, but as she approached all he could say was, "I like your hair" and gave her a free Bingo card. Alyssa thought nothing of his compliment and went to sit down; meanwhile, Brandon shot himself in the foot thinking he blew his one and only chance. Needless to say, the relationship was off to a great start. They met again a few times after Bingo, but as usual, Alyssa was too focused on her wine to notice #notanalcoholic. For example: the trivia she doesn't remember Brandon hosting, and his attempts to talk to her while he was on pool duty. Brandon thought he had no chance. It wasn't until the very last night of the cruise that they met once again, with a little help of liquid encouragement, Brandon had the confidence to strike up a conversation. After the club closed, the two made their way to the pool deck to continue talking; and for the first time, Alyssa realized Brandon's intentions. Time melted away, and they flirted in a way that only makes sense to them. They had no idea it was 6:30 in the morning until other guests began greeting them, despite the fact neither had yet gone to bed. Brandon walked her to her cabin where the two said "Goodnight".

Over the next two weeks, the two talked every day until Alyssa was able get off of work and drive 3.5 hours from New Jersey to Baltimore, Maryland where the two had their first date. The pair shared the same feelings of excitement and anxiety, not knowing how the date would go. When the two were reunited, Brandon was so excited he held her and didn't let go. If anyone knows anything about Alyssa, it's that she does NOT like physical contact; but she couldn't let go of him either. The two made their way into the Inner Harbor and shared bagels that Alyssa had picked up on her way to see him. She stressed that New Jersey has the BEST bagels and he had to try one, but he was more focused on the girl in front of him than the food. When they finished their breakfast, they strolled along the harbor hand in hand lost in conversation. They happened upon an old lighthouse and decided to explore it. To their surprise, it was open, and the pair journeyed their way up. Alyssa and Brandon were the only two at the lighthouse and made their way to the very top. Brandon, being a cheesy romantic as he is, turned on some music and the two slowly danced together. They eventually made their way down to grab a snack before Brandon had to return to the ship. Little did she know, Brandon was anxiously struggling on how he would ask her to be his girlfriend. When he finally got the courage to ask her, he was so nervous about her response he kissed her before she could reply. She finally stopped him and exclaimed, "Are you going to let me say 'yes'?" and the rest, as they say, is history.

When Alyssa and Brandon first met, during the hours of talking on end, one incident connected the two like nothing else. Alyssa was explaining to Brandon how she is very good at math, even though she didn't care for it. She began to sing the Quadratic Formula; yes, you read that right, in the tune of "Pop! Goes the Weasel" perfectly matches. Halfway through the tune, Brandon had joined in and the pair just stared at one another in disbelief. Ever since, the Quadratic Formula has been a true sentiment in their relationship. Who said math wasn't useful after college?? So, when deciding on a wedding hashtag, #KingBearSquared was the perfect creation. Since the two are combining their surnames, the future KingBears thought adding a math reference to their hashtag was the way to go!