Welcome!

Jacob, my brother, asked me after work if I wanted to join him for some drinks with old friends of his. At the time I wasn't in the mood to do much of anything given the fact I was still working through a fairly recent breakup. However, I knew going out and spending time with people I also considered to be friends would help distract me. Begrudgingly, I said yes but little did I know I would meet the woman I'd want to spend the rest of my life with in a few short hours. Skyler worked at The Hotel Saugatuck with Rebecca Hobbs (Heavener) who is friends with my brother and the group of people we went out with that night. Needless to say Rebecca and Skyler are very close friends but much like me, Skyler isn't a huge fan of large groups of people. Which is quite ironic considering we're planning this wedding LOL! Fortunately, Rebecca was able to sweet talk Skyler into joining her for a couple hours. I was standing at the far end of the bar at Walleys, anxiously waiting for my drink as the wait staff hurried back and forth trying to keep up with the growing crowd. Rebecca, seemingly unbothered by the claustrophobic environment, stepped up to the bar to ask Nathan Schlipp if he wanted to have a shot with her not really knowing who I was at the time. Nathan promptly informed Rebecca that he and tequila don't get along, which left me, the other guy. I took it as an opportunity to introduce myself to her as we only really knew of each other through Jacob, which given the current situation meant I was going to be taking a shot. After a few laughs and a couple shots later, Rebecca went back to Skyler who, not knowing anyone, stood by the wall quietly waiting for her friend to return. I remember seeing her face for the first time and feeling overwhelmed by her stunning complexion. I was convinced that even if I could manage to string together the best one liner I could that she would have no interest. Of all the things I could have said I decided for some reason the best thing was pointing out the blatantly obvious fact that the place we were standing was not a good one... I don't know why but I did. I never asked for her number because I knew I was still kind of a mess and honestly, I had been in a relationship so long prior that I kind of forgot how to talk to pretty girls, LOL. However I thought, if its meant to be, it's meant to be! To my surprise, a few days later Alyssa, who is friends with Rebecca and who was also with us that night, messaged me asking me for my number. She said Rebecca's friend (Skyler) was interested, the amount of joy and excitement that rushed over me in that moment is something I will never forget.

Shortly after acquiring Nicholas’ number from Rebecca I asked him if he would like to have dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. For someone who might be known a tiny bit as shy, it was extraordinary the ease I found in spilling all of the details of my life to this handsome stranger. As soon as I had gotten home to my sisters apartment, I began telling her how I had found the man I was going to marry. Although I usually find myself losing interest in things quickly and moving on, from relationships to careers or housing, I felt certain instantly that I had just spent the evening with my soul mate. Just 10 months into dating I realized that the woman who had helped raised me might not be around long enough to attend my wedding. My Grandmother at the time was still recovering from an emergency open-heart surgery, and had not regained her strength back as it once was. I expressed my concerns to Nick and he was quick to reassure me that we can get married as soon as I would like to make sure she could be there to celebrate with us. So June of 2022 we began the process of planning our wedding. Although we were planning the wedding and had already secured my dress, our rings, and the venue, Nick insisted on proposing to me properly. I teased him about waiting so long to propose to me, which he countered with how it was mostly my fault for not being a fan of going out often. So for a few months I made sure to be dressed up a bit nicer, waiting for the day he decided it was the right time. Every spring my favorite flower, lily of the valley, blooms in hundreds at a small nature park in Saugatuck. So many beautiful little flowers that fill the air with that sweet aroma, it is my favorite place in this world at that time of year. After reminding Nick probably too many times that we needed to visit this year because we missed out last year, we finally made the trip out there. Although I knew to be expecting a proposal anytime, the excitement to see the flowers distracted me, luckily for Nick. We walked out the patch and I bent down to pick a couple to bring home. Much to my surprise I turned around to find him down on one knee smiling up at me. He asked me to marry him, and slid the ring onto my finger with a shaky hand. He stood up and after celebrating for a few moments I couldn’t help but start giggling at his still very shaky hands, I asked him if he was nervous to propose to me and he admitted that he was a little bit. I thought how incredibly sweet this man is that even though we’ve been planning the wedding for almost a year, he still had some nerves about asking me. We had dinner at Marro’s that evening then went back the following day and my Photographer Lexus Howell recreate the moment on camera. We're so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you, See you in Holland!