It all started on a cold UP night in April of 2018 at Boda’s famous weekly house party. As Nolan stumbled down the stairs of the basement, his good friend, Fergy, introduced him to the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on, Rachel. They immediately hit it off as Rachel told Nolan all of her favorite animal facts - “did you know, bull moose shed their antlers every winter and grow a brand new set in the spring?” He had no idea, and was extremely impressed with her intimate knowledge of moose. Nolan reciprocated with irrelevant Red Wing facts and some tall tales about how good at hockey he was. Eventually, the night became more romantic as Nolan asked Rachel to slow dance to LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It.” Surprisingly, she accepted. It must have been because she thought she was slow dancing with the Club Hockey team’s star player! The next morning, Rachel wasted no time as she asked Nolan out to a gourmet meal at the college cafeteria. Over mediocre fettuccine alfredo, they both quickly realized how much they enjoyed each other’s company and the rest was history!

Over the summer, Nolan and Rachel took a much-needed trip up to Marquette, their old stomping grounds. On the second day of the trip, Nolan told Rachel that they were meeting up with Nolan’s friend Farley at Presque Isle Park to go swimming. After a nice brunch at Donkers, followed by some shopping on Washington Street, they headed back to the hotel to get ready for the beach. To Rachel’s surprise, Nolan didn’t change into his swim trunks, and was ready to head out in his regular shorts. “What are you doing?” Rachel asked. “Why aren’t you changing into your swimsuit?” “I’m not sure if I’m actually going to swim or not so I’ll just wear my shorts,” Nolan replied. Rachel told Nolan that there is no way they were meeting up with his friend and not going swimming. Nolan quietly agreed and changed into his classic swim trunks with fish on them. Nolan was on a time crunch as they walked out of the hotel towards to car. “Farley will be okay if we’re a few minutes late,” Rachel told him as he continued to check his watch. While driving to Presque Isle, Nolan drove down Lincoln street, unaware that a police officer was waiting at the bottom of the hill, waiting to pull over a speeder. Sure enough, as Nolan passed the cop car, they immediately got pulled over. The cop told him he was going almost 20 miles over the speed limit! Miraculously, Nolan was let off with a warning. When they finally arrived, Nolan and Rachel walked across Black Rocks, the spot where they had one of their very first dates. When they got to the edge of the rocks overlooking the water, Nolan got down on one knee, and a photographer came from out of nowhere to capture the special moment. It was in that moment that Rachel realized they weren’t meeting Nolans friend at noon; they were meeting the photographer for the proposal! It was also in this moment that Rachel realized why Nolan was so hesitant to wear those swim trunks and sandals. After Nolan popped the question, Rachel wiped her many tears of joy and happily said “YES!”