Before it was “us,” it was just a quick lunch. A break in the day at Noches de Colombia in Elizabeth. No expectations. No idea that something real was about to start. But it did. There wasn’t a moment where it suddenly became something… it just kept unfolding. Conversation felt easy. Time moved fast. And without forcing anything, we kept choosing to see each other again. Then somewhere along the way, it wasn’t just dates anymore. It was our lives starting to overlap. Our families came into the picture, and what could have been complicated… wasn’t. The kids didn’t need time to adjust… they just connected. Naturally. Like they had been waiting for each other. And just like that, our time together filled up with real life… holidays, road trips, and everyday moments that didn’t feel new… they just felt right. A lot of those early memories happened by the water. Boat rides. Runs along the Wildwood shoreline. Nights and family events on the Keyport waterfront. Visits to lighthouses by foot and by boat… just because we felt like it. We didn’t plan it that way, but the coastline kept finding its way into our story… or maybe we kept finding our way back to it. One weekend changed everything. Our first trip to the Jersey Shore… just the two of us. No kids. No distractions. Just time. That’s where we ran our first half marathon together… my first ever. Somewhere between the miles, the sound of the ocean, and the rhythm of running side by side, something settled in. That was the first time we really felt it… not just where we were, but where we were going. And that’s the weekend we said “I love you.” But another moment stayed with us just as much… The lighthouse. We climbed to the top, looking out over the ocean. I had always seen lighthouses as something beautiful from the outside. Walli saw more… the structure, the purpose, the history behind them. Standing there together, it felt different. It wasn’t just something to look at anymore… it meant something. A lighthouse doesn’t stop the waves. It doesn’t change the conditions. It just stands steady and lights the way. That stayed with us. Even the place we stayed that weekend felt like it was trying to tell us something. A small beach house with two kids’ rooms… one for a boy and one for a girl. We both noticed it right away. And without saying much, we could picture it… Olivia and Maximus filling those rooms with laughter. A life that didn’t fully exist yet… but somehow already felt real. That trip wasn’t just a getaway. It was the first time everything… our pasts, our families, our cultures, and our love for the water… came together into something that felt like a future. Since then, life didn’t slow down… it expanded. More memories. More milestones. More growth. And then Nova… who brought even more love into a life that was already full. Years later, we went back to that same beach house. But this time, it wasn’t just a vision. Olivia and Max were there… running through those same rooms we once imagined. And Nova was there too… making it even more than we had pictured. It was one of those quiet realizations… We’re not building the life anymore. We’re living in it. And through every chapter, one thing has stayed the same… the coastline. It’s been there from the beginning. In our first dates. Our trips. Our milestones. Our memories. And now… it’s where we’ve built our home. Our place in Mystic Island, right on the lagoon, isn’t just where we live… it’s where everything comes together. Where the kids play. Where we slow down. Where life feels full. So when it came time to choose where to start this next chapter, there wasn’t a question. Not a ballroom. Not a traditional venue. But here… by the water… in the place that already holds our story. Having our family and closest friends here… in this space, in this moment… means everything. Because this has never just been about us. Being able to celebrate together… is what makes this moment complete. We cannot wait to celebrate with you.