Going back in time to 2016, neither of us had pictured ourselves at Rutgers. You see, a torn ACL postponed Jake's dream of going to the Naval Academy so he decided to go to Rutgers. Maddi, on the other hand, decided to change her mind at the last minute because she had a "gut feeling" Rutgers was where she should be. Needless to say, Rutgers wasn't our first choice, but it is where our love began. By luck, we lived in adjacent dorms where we joined our dorm's Residence Association. We then were chosen to attend a conference in Philly to represent Rutgers, and from the moment we entered the van, we had our eyes set on each other. The initial spark between us turned into unequivocal chemistry when we received a noise complaint for talking in the hotel hallway until 1 AM. Our time dating at Rutgers, however, was short-lived and we decided in early 2017 that it wasn't the right time for us. 3 years later in the summer of 2019, Jake was cleaning and found an old gift from Maddi; he decided to reach out to her to catch up on life. Only a few days later, Maddi drove up from Glassboro to Clark, NJ to grab lunch and reconnect... at least that's what she thought. When getting off the highway, Maddi suddenly started sweating and feeling a bit queasy. Surprised by her feelings, questions started to run through her head like "Do I still like this guy after all this time? Should I just turn around and go home?". After circling the block around Jake's house multiple times, Maddi decided to see it through and parked. Jake then greeted her at the door and was immediately overwhelmed by her beauty and smile and simultaneously also started to have similar feelings and thoughts. Only 15 minutes later, Jake just had to kiss her. Maddi returned the kiss but was completely frazzled. Jake responded, "Hungry? Let's go to Manny's Diner." After going to the diner, baking brownies with Jake's sisters, and eating chicken parm subs and Philly cheesesteaks, they both decided to see what this was and agreed to have a second date. The only caveat was that Jake was leaving in a few weeks for summer training in San Diego. So we spent as much time as possible getting to know each other more. Maddi drove down to Annapolis multiple times before he left and they both kept texting and FaceTiming throughout Jake's summer training. When Jake returned from California, Maddi surprised him in Annapolis and Jake asked her right then and there on August 15, 2019, to be his girlfriend. 3 years later on the beach in Carmel, California on July 14, 2022 (a happy backup plan due to wildfires in Yosemite), Jake asked Maddi, his best friend, to be his forever car navigator, restaurant finder, life partner and wife. During those 3 years, Maddi made several trips down to Annapolis, she graduated from Rutgers University with her Bachelors, and started Rutgers Physician Assistant Program. Jake graduated from the Naval Academy, moved to Pensacola, FL, and then again to Corpus Christi, TX for navy flight school. Oh, and a big pandemic happened in the middle of all of that too- and of course, Jake had his 2nd ACL surgery right before. It was through our long-distance relationship, the many late-night video calls determined to say goodnight to each other, and the extremely high demands from both of our schooling, that we have come to cherish and make the most out of every second together. We will always "make it happen" to see one other when our schedule allows for a moment of free time. More than anything though, we look forward to the day the only thing between us is a short ride home from work. Our love knows no bounds and was definitely better the second time around. Annapolis is where our love blossomed, and we cannot wait to share it with you. We are so excited for you to join us on our wedding day in this special city! GET READY TO PARTY!