We’re getting Maui’d!

This is the story of a love that almost wasn’t. And a reminder that you never know how the people you meet might end up changing your life forever. Picture it: Rome, Italy on a hot July morning in 2017. Mark, a dashing young(ish) flight attendant working the business class cabin of United Airlines flight 41 encounters Nicholas, a young(er) and equally dashing traveler. You might say well sure, Mark must meet attractive strangers on planes all the time and Nicholas is an avid travel for both work and pleasure. This is not really that much of a coincidence. But you need to factor in that Mark had only been to Rome two other times before this. As a German speaker, he really only worked flights to Germany and Switzerland. Nicholas had been on a business trip to Japan and South Korea and he just happened to stick a fun trip with friends to Italy on the end of it. The stars had aligned and fate was set in motion. They chat off and on during that long flight, discovering they have many things in common and actually didn’t live that far from each other. A short time before they touched down in Newark, Nicholas, in a very bold move right out of a movie, writes his number on a napkin and hands it to Mark and suggests they get together some time. This is the second time fate steps in to get these two crazy kids together because Mark, you see, is notoriously bad at keeping small pieces of paper or putting phone numbers in his phone. Somehow he manages to do one of those things - it’s unclear which and frankly not that important - and also has the nerve to send the first message. The two decide to meet not in NJ but in Manhattan because they are cool and fun and really it just fits the storyline better. Mark plans what is arguably the best romcom day ever. They go to the Central Park Zoo and see the incredibly small number of animals. They get ice cream. They have ramen. They walk through a magical city filled with life and chat about this and that and have a wonderful time. Then around five in the afternoon Nicholas decides that he needs to head back home to River Edge and Mark walks him to Port Authority to catch his bus and says “Well this was a nice date or whatever it was” - obviously thinking that Nicholas would also say it was a nice date and they would fall in love and live happily ever after. Instead he replies, “Oh, I didn’t think it was a date.” And so it wasn’t. And Mark went on to date someone else for two years. But don’t worry, dear reader, fate stepped in a third time. Just because a person says he doesn’t want to date doesn’t mean that he never wants to see you again. Perhaps it just means that he wants to be friends and then travel buddies and then roommates. This could be because he’s shy or it could be because he just really, really, really wants to be sure about his feelings. Whatever the reason, Nicholas finally comes around to the realization that he does love Mark and couldn’t possibly imagine life without him. Luckily for Nicholas, Mark is very patient. They traveled the world together - from Hong Kong to Berlin and London to Tasmania. But their favorite place has always been Hawai’i - especially Maui. So when the time came to pick a wedding location, it wasn’t too difficult to choose. So now they invite you, their family and friends, to join them in one of the world’s most magical spots. To bear witness as they stand at the edge of the sea and pledge to each other that the love that almost didn’t happen will absolutely last forever.