This love story began on a jagged little rock in the middle of the Pacific, roughly 26 miles across the sea from Los Angeles. Nick and Nina were both new arrivals to Camp Fox, a small cove on the East shore of Catalina Island where they would spend the next year and a half teaching marine science to excited groups of grade school students. Theirs was a chaotic introduction, with Nina tossing her suitcase off the boat toward Nick, the Fox Landing pier having blown out in a recent storm. As Nick waded out into the water to catch flying luggage and help Nina off the boat, he had no idea he was laying eyes on his future wife. It took a few months of Nick getting intimately familiar with Nina's eating style for them to really connect, though Nick admits he was smitten early on. There was something about the way she always spotted the whales first, thoughtfully curated enormous dining hall salads, and heartily chuckled her way through life that caught his eye. Nick went to great lengths to win her affection. He tried bribing the scheduler to let them teach together, showed her how to find octopus on the reef, and snuck little notes under her door whenever he could. Nina remembers being wooed by Nick's engaging teaching methods and frosted blonde hair, coining the endearing nickname "Salty Boy" for him after getting to know his dry humor and occasional bouts of saltiness. She was intrigued by his affinity for solo-adventures, when early into their island tenure he declared that he was going to circumnavigate the island in a small kayak - only to be picked up halfway through due to choppy waters. What really sealed the deal for her was his unwavering persistence; whether in teaching, exploring, or winning her over, Nick never shied away from a challenge. Sparks officially flew when they were assigned to co-host a middle school’s first-ever school dance. Using glow sticks, neon face paint, and a questionable playlist, they managed to throw a party that would’ve made their teenage selves proud. The students picked up on these sparks, or perhaps they seeded the idea in the first place, coining the couple name "Nika" for the destined pair. When their first teaching season was winding down, Nick asked Nina to go “over town” with him on one of their off-weekends, an island phrase for heading back to the mainland. Nina hesitated (as one does when the only thing you have in common is saltwater and sunburns), but she took the leap. One ferry ride, a Thai dinner, and countless adventures later, their island romance blossomed into a sweet little love story that’s still unfolding today. 10 years on from their first over-town adventure (and one pup named Phytoplankton) later, they're returning to the sea to tie the knot and make one of their shared ocean dreams come true - swimming with whale sharks! And they’d love nothing more than to share it with you.