Love is patient and so are we. #SwitchingtoStenzel Postponed to 2021

Nick and Kristina were first introduced by their friend (and future bridesmaid) Lindsey. Lindsey invited Nick to volunteer at a 5K one weekend with her and Kristina. Fun fact....Lindsey had been telling Kristina about two guys she knew named Nick, one of which was a kind of crazy MMA fighter guy and the other was the easy going, sweet Nick Stenzel. Kristina originally thought that the MMA fighter Nick was the one coming to volunteer at the race. Luckily, she was wrong but she did spend half the morning really confused about who this Nick guy was. After the race was done and packed up they all got lunch together and Lindsey was hit by the matchmaker bug! A few days later Lindsey texted both of them separately saying how much she thought they hit it off and gave each the other's phone number. Nick called Kristina the same night and asked her to go to dinner and a show that weekend. The date went great! They went to Soho Cafe in downtown Savannah and saw the Savannah Theater's annual Christmas show. It was the best (and last) first date the both of them ever had. Right away they both knew there was going to be something special between them.

Nick and Kristina's romance has been anything but typical, but every adventure has made them stronger, grown their love for each other and gotten them to where they are today and they wouldn't change a thing. Fast forward a few weeks from their first date. Kristina came back from vacation and Nick had some news. He had been offered a job 3000 miles away in Reno, NV that he couldn't turn down. Even though they had only known each other a month, they knew there was something more to their relationship and it was worth fighting for. So off to Reno Nick went and "Adventure Dates" were born! Over the next 5 years Nick and Kristina collectively traveled almost 200,000 airline miles, lived in 7 different states and had 12 different jobs between them before finally making Texas their home. Neither will ever say it was easy or without heartache but whether it was casino nights in Reno, football games in the Mile High City, or laid back lake weekends with friends and family in Wisconsin, they made it work. No matter what city they were in there was always love, adventure and of course a little wine. :)

Nick planned a weekend getaway in Asheville, NC for Kristina's 30th birthday. They had a romantic getaway planned staying on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate at the Inn. Unbeknownst to Kristina, Nick had been carrying the ring around for 2 months waiting for the perfect moment to propose. On her birthday they had a behind the scenes rooftop tour of the Bitmore house where they got to see areas of the house that others don't normally get to see and had some amazing views of the grounds on the estate. During the tour the guide pointed out a gazebo at the top of the hill in front of the Biltmore house that held a statue of the Goddess Diana/Artemis that the Vanderbilt men used to pay homage to before a hunt for good luck. It was a unique and slightly secluded spot and Nick decided on the tour that it was where he wanted to ask Kristina to marry him. The whole day leading up to the proposal Nick had been asking Kristina about how she felt about the first 30 years of her life and what she wanted to do with the next 30. On the walk from the Biltmore house up to the Diana gazebo Nick asked about Kristina's hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 30 years and beyond. Up at the gazebo she told him that she used to be someone who always had to have 5, 10, and even 15 year plans for her life, and she had it all mapped out. But the day she met Nick every one of those plans went out the window. Their relationship had taught this hyper-logical, over-analyzing, planner that "plans" are just that, and sometimes you just need to "wing it" in life. As Nick got down on one knee he told her that he didn't know what the next 30 years had in store but that he wanted her by his side through it all and asked Kristina to marry him. And she of course said "YES!"