If we both hadn't been awake at 4 am on a random Tuesday, we may never have crossed paths. Angelica was insomnia-driven doom scrolling and John was getting ready to head out for a work trip. We were on the same app at the same time... Angelica said hi first. From that moment on, we were never not talking. We both knew very quickly that there was something special between us. John knew exactly what he wanted, Angelica was lucky to know the day of the week. It was love, right from the beginning... Angelica said that first, too. There's no shame here.

Our first date didn't even happen. We had a date planned a few weeks after we had met, and John, who 'never gets sick' landed himself in the hospital and had to cancel. Bummer. So, we rescheduled for a week later- which felt like an eternity because we were already so smitten that we were just talking all day, every day.

The second first date didn't really happen, either. John, the ever-enthusiastic planner that he is, had arranged for an Escape Room and dinner for the two of us. Once we started talking, we lost all track of time and ended up sitting and talking until late into the night instead. Our first official date was a few days later at Seaside boardwalk. That was September 1st 2024.

We can give John this much, he initiated the first kiss.

At 39 and 36, we had both lived lives, had both been married before, and two beautiful munchkins came with Angelica. Newly dating and in love wasn't where either of us thought we would be. But here we were. And truthfully, we never had to think too much about how or how quickly to proceed, everything happened naturally and comfortably. Like it was meant to be. John soon met Lucy, Benjamin, and Angelica's family and there was no apprehension, no snags, no concerns. Everything just fit.

We all spent holidays and special occasions together. We combined families and our lives have been full of love and joy ever since.

John remodeled his house to accomodate our new family structure- on a very quick timeline because move-in snuck up on us. He built and furnished the kids beautiful bedrooms, built a back yard play ground, a pool, a trampoline, and most recently a chicken coop to house the flock of 9 chickens that Lucy and Angelica talked him into.

John made Angelica his permanent carry on-- showing her beautiful places and new things. Angelica took her first cruise, first flight, and first international trip with John. Even Lucy had her first flight- to Chicago for her birthday. We have been to Chicago, St. Thomas, California, Florida, Nassau, Turks and Caicos, North Carolina, and Las Vegas together. (Angelica tried to talk John into a quick wedding in the latter-- no dice, the man's set on the fairytale).

Angelica taught John that real mashed potatoes do not come from a pouch and that there is more than one right way to load the dishwasher. She reminds him to be patient when he is hasty.

John treats Angelica like a princess and reminds her that life is about balance and that not everything can be fixed with brute force and Command Strips.

Angelica 's children made John a first-time parent... to two 5-year-olds. And he is a really good parent.

John is structured routine and Angelica is organized chaos- and together we are totally in love and even better than the sum of our parts.

Angelica wears layers in the house because John can only survive if the thermostat is reading sub-arctic temperatures, but he wears shorts in the winter so she can light the fireplace.

John lets Angelica leave the flat sheet untucked even though it turns the bed into a rubix cube by morning and Angelica tolerates that there is even a flat sheet on the bed at all. Angelica makes John breakfast every day before work and John fixes all the things Angelica breaks-- she breaks a lot of things.

They each think the other definitively wears the pants in their relationship, and they're probably both wrong.

On September 20, 2025, John proposed to Angelica in a garden gazebo, surrounded by flowers, with a ring in a treasure box, just like the dream she had when she was young-- and with a black diamond because he has always acknowledged, honored, and loved the things that make her unique.

Angelica proposed back to John on Seaside boardwalk because John wanted an engagement ring, too and Angelica has always acknowledged, honored, and loved all the things that make John an absolute weirdo. The kids helped with Angelica's proposal because he signed up for the whole circus and that's what he's getting.

While our values and personalities are very similar, our perspectives and experiences could not be more different, and we are a fantastically quirky couple because of it. We have a lot of fun, a lot of laughs, our fair share of stress, and so, so much love.

We are having a blast planning this wedding together and are so excited to share this time with our closest family and friends. Thank you for celebrating this milestone with us and we look forward to many more memories to come.