Ricky and Niari met on February 19, 2021 and it was love at first sight. They walked hand in hand in a light snowstorm before having a romantic dinner in the beautiful city of Boston. When the night wore down, Lori (Niari’s sister) was nice enough to drive Ricky home. To end the night perfectly, Ricky had both sisters hysterically laughing the entire way. From that day on, Ricky and Niari were inseparable. Both feel a strong bond to the beach and the ocean. Naturally, they started to plan adventures around the world. Frequent trips to Maine, Cape Cod, Newport, Bretton Woods, Florida, even Michigan Games in Ann Arbor quickly became starting points before branching further out to islands like Nantucket, the Hawaiian Islands, and where we find ourselves now in this current story, Aruba. Ricky introduced Niari to Nantucket; a place that became a second home to them. They now have a tradition to go back every year and make sure their initials stay engraved in their favorite lighthouse, Brandt Point. Niari introduced Ricky to Hawaii, a place she grew up going to with her family. On September 2nd, 2023 they packed their bags, took the 12+ hour adventure for their second time and headed to Kauai. It would become one of the best weeks of their lives. The day after they arrived our little Romeo took Niari for an early morning walk along the beach and asked a question 2 years in the making “will you marry me?”. Her excitement drew a comical incoherent response that was emphatically known as "Yes!". But, to this day his silly joke is “I’m still waiting for an answer”. However, we all know that behind every great man is a great woman…rolling her eyes. Little did they know that one of the stops on their map would become their ultimate wedding destination 2 years later; Palm Beach, Aruba at Marriott Stellaris. Aruba aka “One Happy Island” is covered in beautiful sandy beaches that are soaked in sun and will now become the altar on their special day while surrounded by the people they love. Their love for each other grows every day more than the day before. The only place that makes sense for them to tie the knot is on the beach by the ocean.