We plan to wed. Then Dance!

Maretie and Frank met while in the military at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Frank was excessively involved in local activities like recreational sports and salsa lessons. Meanwhile, Maretie was getting settled in the military. Maretie and Frank knew of each other, but they only had a handful of interactions while in Georgia. During one such interaction, Maretie was with her unit in formation when Frank was summoned to speak to the battalion to recruit a skilled team for a Base-wide dodgeball tournament. Frank made some comments about the team not being for people who thought they could throw, but only for people who knew they could throw a dodgeball through another person’s body. Maretie looked on from a distance in amusement, but their lives were heading in different directions.

Almost two years later on Maretie’s deployment in Afghanistan, Maretie was looking for others to join her in activities on base such as volleyball games and salsa lessons. She was constantly rejected, but her roommate, Amanda, kept telling her, “if Frank Wheatley were here, he would play and dance with you!” Maretie was so bothersome that Amanda decided to initiate an email chain with Amanda, Maretie, and Frank all on it, inviting everyone to be pen pals. Fun email correspondence ensued and lasted for a while, but Maretie and Frank were still heading in different directions as Maretie got stationed in Alabama and Frank continued to wander the globe.

An improbable snapchat led to Maretie and Frank reconnecting: Maretie made a post while on a work trip about leaving Texas, and Frank happened to be working a Tough Mudder event in Texas at the same time. Always quick to connect with old friends, Frank replied saying he was in Texas, but Maretie was already gone. Frank confessed that he was attending a Katy Perry concert by himself that night, to which Maretie replied that she would have joined him had the opportunity existed. Frank replied with his plans to attend other important concerts like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift, and Maretie recognized excellent planning when she saw it.

Concert attendance planning ensued, and the fateful reunion took place in 2015 when the pair converged in Aspen Snowmass for Jazz Fest before Frank’s Tough Mudder Colorado event. After 3 years apart, a totally natural, completely awkward [Frank’s fault] encounter happened at the Denver airport when Frank had the genius idea of hiding behind a baggage claim pole as Maretie approached. Fortunately, they moved past that moment and went to the rental car facility. Maretie and Frank spent the next four hours driving from Denver to Aspen talking non-stop. They weathered another potential rough patch when Frank suggested they stop at the hot springs. Maretie, full of confidence and grace, stated her intentions of doing a backflip off the diving board, then proceeded to nearly drown herself executing a remarkable back-FLOP. Frank was wildly impressed and already started to suspect he’d spend the rest of his life with Maretie.

Maretie and Frank got in a rhythm of meeting up monthly on epic weekend adventures, successfully attending both Taylor Swift AND Justin Bieber concerts, and DTR-ing into a couple along the way. Over the course of a year, Frank (fully head-over-heels) persuaded Maretie to abandon her ideas of moving to Washington DC or Chicago, and instead invited her to join him in NYC. After a year of living with several roommates and a horrifying cat, the couple moved into their own apartment one block from Frank’s office.

While highly compatible, Maretie and Frank persevered through ups and downs as well. They thank their friends and families for the relational advice and behavioral modeling, and they continue to appreciate supportive counsel. Maretie and Frank’s bond grew on vacations and trips out of the country to visit family, and the couple’s relationship approached the three-year mark. Frank knew his search for a partner was over from the first drive in Colorado, but he decided to propose once Maretie had had enough time. An invitation to an epic wedding in Whistler presented the perfect opportunity, so Frank hatched a plan. After learning Maretie’s exceptionally specific ring taste, Frank had a ring custom-made in the hopes of getting the perfect ring. With Maretie’s dad’s blessing in the morning, Frank led Maretie to a beautiful vantage point at the top of The Chief near Whistler. Frank offered Maretie an early birthday present, with a catch, “the catch is you have to spend the rest of your life with me” Frank said as he pulled out the ring while on one knee. Maretie felt pretty good about it so she said yes!

The engaged couple confesses they dragged their feet a bit with planning the wedding but knew 2019 would be the year and are excited to celebrate with friends and family from across the country. They are excited to have a great dance party at their wedding, then plan to someday have a family, then grow old and DIE together. Maretie and Frank thank you for being part of their now merged journey!