We're getting married!

They say online dating is another job, and after swiping left more times than I can count, I was starting to believe it. Everyone seemed to 'love' the same things—hiking, camping, traveling—and every profile began to blur together. Nothing felt different… until Mike. I decided to stop focusing on photos and start paying attention to the words behind them. Mike’s profile stood out immediately. It was thoughtful, charming, and quietly funny—and best of all, refreshingly real. Nothing seemed forced. He didn’t mention his love for camping with just him and his dog or how avid of a hiker he is. He spoke in sincerity, and I was VERY intrigued. I decided to take things into my own hands and I’m happy to say that I swiped first. It took a few weeks to finally find the right time to meet. It seemed like when Mike didn’t have his boys, I was busy working. I even scheduled a call with Mike that I forgot about and took this call when I was at a networking event. He was kind and asked if I wanted to reschedule, so we did. He seemed patient and not pushy, he didn’t try forcing anything and just let it happen organically. His online photos didn’t capture what mattered most, even though he is dashingly handsome! His bio was filled with warmth, his slight humor, and the way he wrote was enlightening! Later, I learned he had used a service to help structure his bio more clearly. HA! It worked—not because it was polished, but because it reflected who he truly was. Money well spent Sir! We finally set a date and met for the first time at Bar Louis in the Tempe Marketplace. I had been on enough dates and quickly learned NOT to spend too much time on a first date, so I made an executive decision that my first date would be set to one hour. This way, if we didn’t click, no time wasted and, if there was an interest, there is always time for another date. Mike and I were having a great conversation. Unlike other guys, he was genuinely interested in me, my goals, my life, my future. I got lost in our conversation and by the time I looked at my phone, I had been on this date for an hour and 27 minutes! I was over my time limit! I cut it short and told Mike that I had to go. (Which later I found out that it quite upset him. He said he didn’t even get to walk me to my car). As I was getting up to leave, he told me that he wanted to see me again. When I asked him what he had in mind, he said, “Well, your spontaneous and I’m adventurous, so I’ll figure something out". WHOA!! GREAT ANSWER! Our dates turned into twice a week, and every other weekend for a month. And after spending time with this adorable man, getting to know this farm boy from Nebraska, my heart didn’t let me pull away. Perfectly timed, just the right words, the right swipe, and us finding each other exactly when we were meant to. That’s how our story began. Click the hamburger icon in the upper right corner (if on your phone) to view the 3 day agenda, book your stay and check out things to do in Greer!

In August 2025, Marcelle and I booked a cruise to Bimini Bahamas to celebrate our 6 year anniversary, and I was super excited because this was my first cruise ever. This was Marcelle's second cruise, so we were really looking forward to it, knowing we were going to be visiting Key West and the Bahamas, and spending a week together, just the two of us. We had it all planned out - we'd book the Sunday night red eye to Fort Lauderdale, sleep a bit on the plane, then leave our bags with the concierge and kick around town that day until check in. Boom-all went according to plan-along with a terrible sunburn for the both of us that was NOT in the plan. With this being day one, it was out of the question-nope...not today. Setting sail Tuesday morning, we knew going through Key West the following morning we'd have time to ride the trolley around the town and check out some sites, but with this being our first port, I thought, "no way could I propose on the first stop". Key West was cool, and we had a great time, but...this had to be a REALLY special occasion! Being an analyzer, I actually knew before we left Phoenix exactly when it was going to happen! In Bimini, we had scheduled to snorkel with the sharks; I knew we'd both be nervous, so it'd be perfect! I mean, as a Nebraska farm boy, my first swimming pool was a cow tank! (Sidenote: I did actually take swimming lesson once when I was 5, but I never got my hair wet! No joke). And even though Marcelle grew up in Southern California, she had only snorkeled twice and had never scuba dived before, so this was going to be a really interesting experience for both of us! With both of us being so nervous, she'd never see it coming. Done, it was all planned... until it wasn't. After leaving Key West, we decided to schedule a beautiful sunset dinner - and it was fantastic! With storm clouds building in the distance, it made for an incredible sunset dinner. To make even better, the clouds rolled in that night and decided to treat us for a torrential downpour. We both love rain, so we sat under the cover on top of the ship with others and just watched it rain buckets-it was awesome! It kind of relieved our minds for a bit that night, knowing we were to get up and snorkel with the sharks the next morning. The morning came and man we were nervous, yet we made our way to the place where we'd meet the hosts, jump in a boat and head out to the ocean. Except the dive was cancelled!!! There was lightening in the distance, and they weren't letting anybody out to snorkel. SHIT, SHIT, SHIT! My whole plan was ruined. What now? We ended up renting a dune buggy for the day and kicked around the island, but quite frankly it was a massive letdown after being so jacked to get some adrenaline. Nope...it wasn't meant to be. We got back to Fort Lauderdale the following morning and were off the ship by 10 AM. My plan was ruined!! Yet...I thought, "if she expected me to propose, it would have been while we were on the cruise". While making a beer and wine run later that afternoon, I used the hotel concierge to run me to the liquor store. He gave me some ideas of restaurants, and I picked an excellent Mexican food restaurant with a great vibe on the beach. I scheduled him to pick us up from the hotel. It was an open air "limousine" golf cart, so I had him take us around town after dinner to see some sites before heading back to the hotel. I just didn't feel any time during dinner was the "right" time, so once we got back to the hotel, I asked if she wanted to head down to the hotel beach bar for a night cap. While heading down to the beach, I pulled her aside, looked her in the eyes, pulled the ring from my pocket, and asked, "will you be my best friend, my lover, my rock and my everything for the rest of our days?". If you've read this far, and you're invited, what do you think her answer was? Click above for our 3 day agenda & to book your stay with us in Greer!