Vanderbilt Museum & Planetarium 180 Little Neck Road Centerport, New York 11721 Cocktail/formal attire. Guests are encouraged to wear star, space, or celestial-themed attire. No costumes please. Avoid stilettos since there are uneven cobblestone walkways at the venue.

It all started on the dance floor at a house party in the Bay Area. Nick had just begun his graduate program in Science Communication at UC Santa Cruz, while Miranda was embarking on the first year of her Biology Ph.D. program at Stanford. Needing to unwind from the demands of graduate school, we were both invited to a party at Stanford's campus hosted by Nick's college friend. The music was going, the drinks were flowing, and Nick noticed Miranda on the dance floor. Nick asked Miranda to dance to "Timber" by Pitbull and Ke$ha (in a true sign of the times), and he saw it as his opportunity to woo her with his iconic dance moves. He charmed her even more when he spun her on the dance floor. We soon made plans to see each other after the holidays and made our relationship "official" on February 7, 2014. Although long distances physically separated us, we quickly realized how compatible and inseparable we were. Life has allowed us to grow with each other while cultivating our love into what it is today.

Almost nine years after they first met, Nick had a work trip that brought him to Lisbon, Portugal, so Miranda tagged along. It was the last day in Lisbon, and we decided to visit Pena Palace in the nearby town of Sintra. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. It was breathtaking! As we explored the castle grounds and took photos, Nick noticed different pairs of tourists going up the turrets, or small tower lookouts, to overlook Sintra. We waited in line for our turn and gave our phones to a group of tourists visiting from Germany to take some photos of us from the lookout. While enjoying the view, we posed for photos, and Nick started to get down on one knee. At first, Miranda didn’t realize what Nick was doing, so she shooed him to stand up for the photos! After a few photos, Nick got down on one knee and asked Miranda to marry him. Miranda said yes, they kissed, and the crowd cheered to celebrate their fairytale moment.