Marco and I met at the ECU Newman Center on September 26th, 2019. I was eating dinner with some of my friends before attending Adoration that evening. He had came in with one of his friends. I had noticed that he was quietly standing off to the side, so I decided to introduce myself. Then that evening, he knelt in the front row the entire Adoration service. I knew in that moment that there was something different about him. Then the next day, we both went on the Fall Newman Center retreat in North Topsail Beach, NC. Throughout this weekend, I got to know him a little better (beat him in a few card games) and then we ended the retreat with exchanging information! Throughout the remainder of the semester Marco and I talked every now and again, but it was not until December that we seriously started talking. After final exams, Marco and I started talking non-stop over snapchat. This followed us into Christmas break when I went back home to Chapel Hill and he flew overseas to have Christmas in Italy with his family! Eventually, the snapchat messages were not enough, so we started to coordinate facetime calls. We could not stop talking to each other. We kept each other up way too late just trying to get to know each other. Then on Christmas night, he told me he started to have feelings for me and we both agreed that we would explore our feelings once he returned from Italy. Ever since that Christmas, there has not been a single day where I haven't talked to Marco.

What we did not realize is that after Christmas break we would continue to be long distance friends. While I was studying at ECU, Marco was taking a study abroad semester at ECU's satellite campus on the Outer Banks! We continued to talk to each other everyday. He even made a few spontaneous trips to suprise me at school. He once drove 2 hours just to participate in the polar plunge with me. In Feburary, just before my Mom's birthday, my parents came to Greenville to visit me for the weekend and we went to dinner so that my parents could meet Marco. They had noticed that we were talking a lot over the past few months, so they were really excited to meet him! During dinner, I had to use the bathroom, and while I was gone he asked for my parents blessing to date me. The following week he asked me to go on our very first date, VALENTINES DAY! On our first date, we went to Luna Pizza (one of our favorite pizza places!), then we attended an ECU Orchestra concert, and then we ended the night with Smashed Waffle! A few weeks later, he decided it was time that I meet his parents! So on Sunday, March 1st 2020, we decided to take a day trip out to the Outer Banks to see where he had been studying for the semester. We went and saw the Coastal Studies Institute, went for lunch, and then we decided to stop by Jeanette's Pier. He knew that there would be a nice view from the balcony, so we stepped out there and BOOM! He asked me to be his girlfriend.... right before the world shut down!

This part goes way back! I knew I wanted to marry Katie almost a whole year before I actually proposed. Admittedly, a lot of that time was spent searching for a ring. I really wanted to make sure it was perfect, and of course Katie didn’t give me a whole lot to go off of (since she didn’t know what she wanted either!) I had some amazing assistance from my mother and sister throughout it all – finding the right places to go, discerning styles and stones, etc. All I knew was that she wanted yellow gold and that she saw a princess cut she liked one time. After many months of searching, sharing and deliberation in the fake ‘Party Planning’ group chat I had created (to make sure Katie didn’t go searching whenever she got my phone) I had found the one. In February of 2023 I finally brought it home - but the challenges of this endeavor were FAR from over. There was so much to keep track of – a ring to hide for an uncertain amount of time (I had not decided when to propose yet), as well as videos I had recorded for her to watch that documented the entire ring search process - and of course, an impatient girlfriend who was very ready to get engaged, and loves to snoop. At this point, very few people knew what was going on – I wanted this to be a huge surprise, and I really didn’t want to risk spoiling it early. Around March was when I sat down with my family and decided that the summer of 2023 would be the best time to propose, when we were going to visit family in Italy. Now this is where things got REALLY difficult - having to keep the biggest secret of my life, for over 4 months, while pretending to be clueless about any kind of engagement plans (while the ring is in my bedroom). Even after all that, there was still one big hurdle – I hadn’t asked her parents yet. Like I said, I really didn’t want to take any risks! As much as I would have preferred to ask them in person, a FaceTime call was the next best thing. I waited until Katie had gone to bed (thank goodness for different timezones) and called her parents, with my heart in my throat. They were, expectedly, a bit surprised at first, but then they were instantly on board. I was so relieved! After all the stress and anxiety, I finally had their approval – the last missing piece – and it looked like everything was ready to go! But that would be too easy… Wouldn’t it?

For months I had the perfect plan. I would ask Katie to marry me at the Ninfa Gardens in Italy – one of the most gorgeous, picturesque botanical gardens I’ve ever been to. My whole family would be there, there was the perfect spot at the end of the tour, and it would make for some amazing photos. The days leading up to this were some of the most nerve-wracking of my life. Then on Saturday, the day before, Katie had a family emergency. After this, I knew it wouldn’t be the right time. I remember being physically ill that night – from both concern for Katie and her family, and months of preparation screeching to a halt. Sunday came and went, and I was totally lost, not knowing what I would do about the proposal. A few days passed, and it seemed the situation back in America was improving, so I decided it was time to try again. This time the plan was to propose in Lanuvio – the town we spent most of the summer in, and by this point was a very special place to us. Lanuvio is full of narrow, winding alley ways, with beautiful Italian architecture and an amazing mountainside view. The more I thought about it, the more this seemed like it would be even better than the gardens. So on the morning of August 1st – coincidentally a special date for us - we drove to town to pick up some pizza (with the ring in my father’s pocket to avoid suspicion) and ‘decided’ to take a different alleyway home – which led to a beautiful archway. My sister stopped and asked Katie to take pictures of her and her husband (while I was given the ring), and then offered to take some of us. We did a few poses and ended with Charlie’s Angels. While her back was turned, I got down on one knee, and asked Katie to marry me – although it was a bit hard to hear over her “SHUT UP” – fair to say she was surprised! It was quickly followed by a “Yes” and that was it! The weight of the world fell off my shoulders, and I was engaged to the love of my life! We then got to reveal the secret together to all of our friends and family that I wasn’t able to tell. HUGE thank you to my family for all the support, advice, and encouragement, from start to finish, through all the obstacles and curveballs. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you!