We're so excited to celebrate with you!

Honestly, our first interaction was online in 2018 and my fiancée is notoriously bad at communicating through texts or messages. So the first step to meeting each other was actually just call and talk to each other and see how that went. Our initial conversations were witty and mind stimulating. We would quickly go from a serious conversation to something lighthearted and poking fun at one another. I found out very quickly that Marissa was one of the easiest people to talk to that I've met. So once we had finally talked on the phone a few times, we had decided to meet up in person. The first place we met was a black bookstore in Baltimore, we picked out books for each other to buy. It was refreshing and felt easy to just hangout and be friends. No pressure of dating just building a friendship.

I can fully say I was delightfully surprised. I personally thought Disi would propose to me two days later at my birthday dinner. I am too perceptive for my own good. Thankfully Disi and my Maid of Honor Kristy know me so well and I was genuinely surprised. Disi can be quite romantic when he wants to be, so I thought the picnic on the beach was just that, an intimate birthday celebration and then dinner. I love the ocean, everything was perfect. Usually Disi is nervous and I can tell, this day he was nothing but confident and calm. People thought we were getting married or something and here I am clueless saying "Oh it's just my birthday." We are eating, and he decides he wants to take my picture; again nothing he is doing is truly out of the ordinary for him. A woman on the beach with her kids asks if she can grab a few because everything is so beautiful. Disi takes some pictures with me and then tells me to turn around.I then see them; my loved ones are there with letters spelling WILL YOU MARRY ME. He looks at me and says "Did I win?" Of course he did. He won my heart long before getting down on his knee and proposing. With tears pouring down my face I said yes to my best friend in the world, I said yes to becoming Mrs. Kitchen, and I couldn't be happier or more blessed.

The engagement happened a few days before her birthday. And I knew I had to propose before her birthday as Kristy and I had figured Marissa would predict everything else. The day of the engagement I was nervous the entire day but I could never let on that I was because it would've given away the surprise. The resort I chose overlooked the beach and it was glorious. We had planned a picnic on the beach because Marissa has always loved the beach and the ocean. As we walked up towards the beach, I really enjoyed seeing the joy on her face as I knew she didn’t know what was coming or how it was coming. From the picnic setup, to the photographers blending in to the background and inconspicuously asking for pictures the whole scene seemed perfectly spontaneous. When I signalled for her family and friends to come down and when she turned around and she couldn’t respond immediately, I felt so proud of what I was about to do. I did ask her “did I win” and I truly believe I have. I knew she would say yes. I was nervous but I knew where Marissa’s heart was in our relationship. I was so relieved and grateful to hear her say yes to becoming my partner in life. To me, I communicated to my best friend that I want to be a part of the journey of loving and supporting her for life and to be a part of her community that would ensure that she fully enjoys this life. I am overjoyed and grateful that Marissa is the woman I get to build a life with.