I met Marisa Garcia on October 16th, 2014. It was exactly 1 week after my 30th birthday. I was living in Los Angeles at the time, and Marisa was in town for work. We both happened to be on Tinder, which at the time was truly worth the name, the internet brought us together. Anyways, she agreed to meet me for a date. It was really more of a conference. I think 6 people were there in total. We met at a restaurant in Franklin Village, Los Angeles. It's called, Papilles. It has outdoor seating on a cool sidewalk in Hollywood. We were all outside on a beautiful night, and I was avoiding my delicious, golden, shoestring french fries (I believe the correct term is "diet"). Marisa politely asked if she could have a few of my fries. I absolutely agreed and was thinking, "Win-win. I get points for sharing food and less temptation in front of me. I can't lose." Before I could finish that thought, I looked down and all my fries were gone. I thought to myself, "If this woman likes fries as I do, then we have a solid foundation to build on." The building blocks have been coming ever since! On my 34th birthday, Oct. 9, 2018, I asked Marisa for her hand in marriage. She said yes! We chose New Orleans, LA because it has such rich memories for Marisa as a young girl, visiting with her family, and where my grandmother was born and raised. The history, architecture, and food of New Orleans is a perfect location for our wedding. For our Save the Dates, in honor of Saint Louis, King of France (the namesake of our cathedral) I wanted to portray Marisa as a French princess, the sole daughter of Saint Louis. I, a lowly merchant marine deck-hand, have been tasked with escorting the princess through the new bustling port of the Mississippi River. It was love at first sight. We're so honored and excited to celebrate our union with you. This deck-hand is marrying up in the Big Easy. We can't wait to be with all of you to share in our new beginning!