our Happi-LE ever after

Christine and Nick's story began in the good old town of West Lafayette, both working at Purdue University. Nick, never one to let an opportunity slip by, spotted Christine adjusting to life in a new state and did what Nick does best: offered his number under the guise of being helpful. What followed was a string of Nick-orchestrated outings such as arcade games and scooters through Indianapolis, a taco-and-beer picnic in the park, a Thomas Rhett concert with coworkers. He's always had the energy to say yes. He just tends to leave the actual planning to someone else (a pattern that has very much continued). A real friendship took shape fast. Neither of them fully understood yet just how far it would go.

Here's the thing about Christine and Nick: the algorithm would have never matched them. Christine is a self-described "homebody, which is technically true if you ignore the passport stamps, the frequent flyer status, and the fact that she's never once turned down a road trip. Nick is a social, go-go force of nature who treats every weekend like an opportunity not to be wasted, as long as it wraps up by 9pm. She's the planner. He's the enthusiasm. She keeps the wheels on. He convinces everyone to get in the car. And somehow, spectacularly, it works. More than works — it's the whole foundation. Christine's grounded nature balances Nick's endless momentum. Nick's spontaneity pulls Christine into adventures she'd have never booked herself. Together they've built something neither could have pulled off alone: a life that's equal parts cozy and in motion, rooted and wide open.

In September 2019, Nick packed up and moved to Lakeland, FL and while neither had a clear road map, they decided to try. Christine's love of travel turned out to be a serious asset: she frequently found herself heading south to see Nick and the sunshine. Then 2020 happened. The world shut down, and Christine found herself in a one-bedroom apartment with Nick for three months: unplanned and with nowhere to be. An accidental audition for cohabitation. Nick will tell you it proved, definitively, that Christine does not need as many clothes as she later moved down with. By the end of 2020, with a great career opportunity in hand, Christine loaded up her Nissan Sentra and made the drive from WI to FL. Over 100 flights, three homes, and countless hours of laundry-folding (for Nick) later, they haven't looked back.

No relationship is without its seasons, and theirs included one of particular weight. Nick's Army basic training meant handwritten letters and a 30-minute phone call each week. It was their hardest stretch, and one they wouldn't trade. It left them more grounded, more grateful, and a little more unshakable.

On paper, Christine is a homebody and Nick is a man of endless energy. In practice, they've built a life full of movement. Together they travel to visit friends scattered across the country, hunt down sporting events and venues to check off their bucket lists, and make their annual pilgrimage back to Wisconsin for a proper dose of winter. The travel list is ambitious and gloriously unfinished. New cities, stadiums, new excuses to find their people wherever they've landed. Every trip is a chance to check something off and add three more things. That's not a problem they're in any hurry to solve.

Ask Christine and Nick what the future looks like, and they'll tell you: full. There are places they haven't been yet, goals that are going to take some work, and more than a few big swings they're planning to take, together. They're not the couple with a five-year plan mapped to the minute. They're the couple who figures it out as they go, leans on each other when it gets hard, and somehow always lands on their feet. Above all of it, they are genuinely each other's favorite person. The kind of relationship where the adventure isn't just the trips or the milestones. It's Tuesday nights on the couch, folding laundry, cooking up something in the kitchen that may or may not turn out as planned, yelling at the TV during Florida State and Packers games, and Christine crying at the same movie she's seen four times while Nick pretends he isn't smiling. It's the goofy, unscripted, nothing-special moments that somehow become the whole story — and the reason they can't imagine doing any of it with anyone else. So it felt only right to make it official. After seven years of adventures, letters, long distance, and everything in between, Christine and Nick will exchange vows in an intimate ceremony in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on September 12, 2026, surrounded by their families. The celebration with all their favorite people follows in March 2027 — conveniently timed to give their northern friends an excellent excuse to come south and finally thaw out. Thank you for being part of this journey. We're so glad you're here. — Christine & Nick