Living in New York City as a new resident of Midtown East with her dear friend Michael Crouch 10 blocks south in Murray Hill, Nicole agreed to meet Crouch and some friends out at a local bar in SoHo called Brinkley's (RIP!). Little did she know it was the evening of Santacon - one of the rowdiest nights of the year for New Yorkers as many dress up in Santa outfits and bar hop around the city from sun up to sundown. Upon her arrival at Brinkley's, Chris struck up a conversation with Nicole, as he often does in social settings, butterflying his way around crowds as the most chatty, warm, & welcoming face in the room. Eventually, he offered to buy Nicole a drink as he went to order a celebratory round for his friend who had just been accepted to graduate school. Understood as the clear 'first move' by Nicole and allegedly intended as a kind gesture of inclusion by Chris - the two still contend different memories of when their budding romance began, though both agree they were the classiest NYC couple wandering New York's sloshy winter streets that night, and that the evening was undoubtedly the beginning of something quite special. The following week, Chris planned a more official first date for his soon-to-be-discovered birthday twin at Socarrat, a Spanish tapas bar in Nicole's neighborhood. Little did he know he'd quickly win Nicole over as she'd studied abroad in Madrid and had a soft spot for Spanish culture. Between Chris continuing to "agree" with Nicole's birthday, eventually making it clear he cited the same day for himself and an eerily similar love of Spain, Nicole began to wonder if Chris had been watching her from afar for longer than she realized.

Fast forward seven years and Chris spent many covid quarantine months looking for the perfect engagement ring for his soon to be bride. On Christmas day of 2020, Chris managed to pull off a beautiful surprise engagement with Nicole's family in Austin. Managing to keep anything under the radar with 7 people quarantining for weeks on end in the same house seemed like a daunting feat in itself. Pressure was undoubtedly building further with the widely celebrated Greenwell parents' engagement on Christmas morning. The happy couple headed out for a sunset walk on Christmas evening, Nicole already assuming Christmas day was winding down. Chris had another plan in mind though and arranged the most perfect engagement setting in Nicole's childhood neighborhood, complete with hidden photographers (s/o to Ryan & Nicole!), champagne and stargazer lilies topped off with one of the most beautiful sunsets the couple had ever seen! While they were out, the Greenwells scurried throughout the house to setup the surprise celebration they'd been waiting to throw for weeks, at a minute's notice. Not even Chris knew that surprise was coming! The night ended with a surprise Facetime call to the Kelley clan and champagne flowing straight to a hot tub celebration overlooking Lake Austin. We can't WAIT to continue our celebrations with you all. After a year of separation from many of our favorite people, we hope March will be a celebration of love and a reunion for everyone who has shaped us into the people we are today and hope to become together in our marriage. We love you all!