We first started talking back in October of 2016 via a dating site. Melissa (being a Star Wars fan) stated on her profile she was looking for love in Alderaan places. Steven quickly caught on to her nerdy pun and had to message her. We began messaging back and forth via the dating site the entire day, ultimately exchanging numbers by the end of it. We continued to text back and forth throughout the week and even had a few phone calls. During this same week, hurricane Matthew was set to hit central Florida, but we kept in touch with each other making sure the other was okay. We postponed our first date until after Matthew passed the area. That Saturday, 10/8/2016, Steven picked Melissa up and whisked her off for a fun day at Universal Studios and City Walk. We had lunch at the then brand new Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and enjoyed an afternoon in the Universal parks. If you're wondering, yes there was a goodbye kiss. The rest as they say, is history. We hung out every day the week following our first date and on the days we didn't see each other, we messaged constantly. Both of us being cruise fanatics, we decided to take a weekend cruise on the Carnival Victory out of Port Canaveral on 10/27. A couple of hours into setting sail, we were in the atrium balcony with a beautiful view of the ocean. It was then that Steven asked me to be his girlfriend.

In early February of 2019, we took a seven-day Disney Cruise (told ya we liked cruises). This particular cruise was special because it was themed to our favorite Sci-Fi saga Star Wars. The second day at sea was aptly named "Star Wars Day at Sea" which we enjoyed with thousands of our closest cruising friends. During this day, adults and kids were encouraged to dress up as their favorite characters from the franchise. Melissa had a scheduled boutique appointment where adults could choose to be dressed as either Princess Leia, Rey, Po Dameron or Kylo Ren. What Melissa didn't know was that this boutique visit would be very different. Upon checking in, the head of the boutique mentioned to Melissa that she was randomly chosen for a special makeover. This makeover would include hair, makeup and a unique costume from the movies. When Melissa walked into the dressing room, she saw her favorite dress from the franchise worn by character Padme Amidala in Episode II: Attack of the Clones. After a morning of pampering and dress up in the spa, Melissa returned to the boutique where she ran into two Imperial officers looking for Rebel spies or sympathizers. When Melissa was asked for identification and couldn't provide any, she was escorted by the officers down the elevator shaft to the main lobby balcony for "questioning". After a few moments of waiting alone by the balcony, I hear Steven and turn around to find him dressed in full Jedi robes as Anakin Skywalker complete with Sith holocron. It was then that Steven got on one knee, gave his speech (for my ears only) and opened the holocron to reveal the ring. I said yes (spoiler alert), we kissed, placed the ring, had some sparkling wine and enjoyed the rest of our day as a newly engaged couple.

Why 10/24? The reasoning is actually very simple. October is when we first started talking and the month of our dating anniversary. 24 is a significant number in both of our lives. For Melissa, it's her birth date and for Steven, 24 was his lucky number and what he wore on his soccer jersey. We look forward to celebrating with everyone on a beautiful Sunday morning! Please use our hashtag: #OnceUponaMorgan