Nick and Halley (technically) met online, but they had one friend in common, Matt Belanger. Nick and Matt used to work together and Halley knew Matt through her friends, the Mowrey's. Before they met, Nick reached out to Matt to investigate just what kind of girl Halley was. Fortunately for them, Matt was in full support of them dating so Nick began preparations for their first date. Nick planned dinner at a quiet, French restaurant in San Francisco called Zazie. When they met, they nervously introduced themselves with a hug and a smile and were seated inside next to a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple struck up conversation by stating the obvious - "You're on your first date, aren't you?" (made more obvious by Halley's rapid chatter). But by the end of the evening, after red wine and crème brûlée, their nerves had settled and they were already planning to see each other again. You see, Halley was leaving soon for Thailand with her friend, Terri, and they needed to sneak in one more date before her trip. So at the end of the night the couple celebrating their anniversary wished Nick and Halley love and happiness throughout their journey and that wish has been with them ever since.

The day started early August 12th when Nick began the preparations he'd had in place for 2 weeks. After 3 trips back to Zazie (pictured below!), the restaurant staff were prepped and champagne bottles lay on ice. Nick had told Halley they were going to Zazie to meet friends and chose that restaurant as they'd never been. This should have aroused suspicion, but Halley was none the wiser despite not having been back to Zazie since that first date 5 years ago. Nick grabbed a nice bottle of wine from the rack and Halley even exclaimed: "Why are you bringing such a nice wine!". But she still didn't guess what the night awaited. When they arrived, Nick was greeted with a wink and a smile from the French proprietor, who confirmed all was in place. After the main course was served, Nick's best friend Matt and his fiancee Laura took well timed breaks to prepare their cameras. It was then that Nick tried to begin the long proclamation of love he had memorized. However, he was met with doe-eyed, unintended resistance when beginning with phrases such as: "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you". To which Halley replied, "Me too!". It was then that he realized he'd need to bend down on one knee to get the message across. So he reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring and that's when Halley's face lit up. He asked her to marry him and she emphatically said "YES!". After their private, special moment, they were rejoined with their friends for a toast. Then spent the evening joyously laughing the night away. Then we started planning this wedding...