We're Getting Married

Brad had been working for Paragon Security for a few years and was stationed at the Columbus MEPS building. Melissa started volunteering with USO Ohio in August of 2018. She started with a volunteer shift at the Columbus MEPS where she became friends with several of the employees in the building, one of them being Brad. During her shift, she would always go in and talk with the security officers. In 2019, Brad had taken a family vacation and asked Melissa to stay in his house and take care of his 2 dogs, which she happily did. After she moved to VA during COVID, she decided to take a trip back to Ohio since she was not having any luck with finding work. During her trip she stayed with Brad and his dog. At the end of the trip, they decided that she should move back to Ohio and stay with him. On the 4th of July, Brad and Melissa went to a friends holiday party and at the end of the party Brad shared with Melissa that he liked her. For the rest of the evening, they cuddled on the swing on the back deck at home and watched the fireworks.

Brad, Melissa, Charlie, and Kylo took a trip over a long Labor Day weekend to go and visit her family in Virginia. Melissa took a walk with her mom and the dogs to get some exercise while Brad caught up with her dad. Brad also took this time to ask for her dad's blessing. Melissa and her mom came back and Brad and her dad were sharing a drink like normal so Melissa didn't think anything of it. The next day, after going to the mall and coming home to get ready for what Melissa thought was going to be family pictures, Brad and Melissa walked down to the lower fire pit like they do on every visit. This is where Brad shared how much he loved Melissa and asked her to spend the rest of their lives together. After she said "YES", he shouted "SHE SAID YES" and we heard someone in the distance cheering. Come to find out that Melissa's sister, Karissa, and Karissa's boyfriend, Shane, had been hiding in the woods to get pictures. After taking a private moment, Brad and Melissa came back up to the house and celebrated with the whole Tobin family.