Nick used an adorable and original emoji combination to catch my attention. On our first date, we met for Philz Coffee, and quickly felt at ease with each other. We strolled Land’s End in San Francisco and took in the views, the fog and the crashing waves. Then we popped into an open house and pretended to be a married couple, and finally ended the day with sushi, where I got Nick to try raw fish for the first time. Our first date lasted 8 hours. Even though we were from opposite sides of the country, we felt we had known each other forever.

We traveled to Istanbul for Chelsey’s Birthday in October. It was a trip we both where very excited about. I wanted to make it something she would never forget. I had been keeping this secret since the beginning of April as I crafted a custom ring that I knew she would adore. I had originally planned to propose in our hot air balloon ride, but as the opportunity presented itself I had to seize it. She had been telling about this Church turned Mosque, and now museum called Haiga Sophia which she studied since she was a young girl. I could see this really meant a lot to her so as we headed out for the day I grabbed the ring and put it in my pocket. I was looking forward to the moment all morning. As we approached Hagia Sophia she was telling me about the history and all the building had endured over the last Centuries. As we crossed the threshold into the main entrance of the massive site, I was overcome with emotion. Chelsey leaned to me and said “Honey its ok” as she thought my emotions were from the tumultuous history she had just told. In reality I was so happy to finally be in this very special moment, when there was a brief pause and all the tourists seemed to be somewhere else I found the perfect moment to get on one knee and let her know that I didn’t want to be her boyfriend anymore, I wanted to be her husband. She said YES! I am very proud and cannot wait to call her Mrs Battaglia.