Our journey started in Lansing, NY - where we found ourselves in the same 4th grade class. We became best friends by freshman year of high school, began dating Junior year, and then did long distance in college. In the summer of 2018, Greg moved to Tampa, FL! Since then, we have simply loved being in the same city together. Some of the best joys together are finding local coffee & bagel shops, spending sunny days at the beach, trying out new dinner ideas, and taking walks to Ballast Point - our favorite pier in Tampa Bay.

On Saturday, April 6, 2019, our family and close friends headed down to Anna Maria Island, FL. My parents and best friend, Kelsey Hoxie, were in on the proposal plans, while I thought we were just having a nice little beach weekend. That night, after a great beach day, we headed back to catch the sunset. Greg took me closer to the water- I noticed that his heart was beating so fast and he seemed a little nervous. The last time he was like this was when he told me he loved me for the first time. He pulled out one of our favorite photos when we started long distance and began his "proposal speech". When he got down on one knee, truthfully I had no idea what he was saying- All I knew was YES I wanted to marry him! After the proposal, Greg had a blanket set up with champagne and a playlist ready to go with all of our favorite songs. For the toast, Greg repeated his "proposal speech"- I was so happy I blacked out the first time! It was without a doubt the best night.

When I first moved from NY to Tampa during the summer of 2018, there was no doubt in my mind I would eventually ask Kelsey to be my wife - that was the easy decision! When she was visiting her family in Ohio in February 2019, I found the perfect ring and was ready to propose. Thankfully, Kels has always been happy with the simple, meaningful aspects of life. I knew I needed to think of a setting that meant a lot to us throughout our relationship. Of the few locations I had in mind, I kept coming back to the beach. Having a long-distance relationship for so many years, all we had during that time were quick weekend trips, often only 3-4 days in the same city. In these short (Tampa) weekends together, we always seemed to make time for the beach. Anna Maria Island (AMI), thanks to its perfect beach settings and many exciting memories with Kelsey's extended family, made for the perfect spot. So a sunset proposal on AMI was the plan for Saturday night, 4/6/19. Kelsey's parents were a huge help in planning the weekend by inviting Kels and I, along with her best friend Kelsey Hoxie (aka Hox) to join them for a weekend down in AMI. When Kels was showering after our day by the ocean (thinking she was getting ready to go out to dinner), I snuck back down to the beach to check the sky and to set up a blanket with a picnic basket and speaker that would play songs dating back to our high school days. This would allow us to have a few minutes to ourselves on the beach after the big moment. As planned, her mom suggested we walk back to the beach to watch the sunset and take some sunset photos. Now on the beach with the sun close to the ocean on the horizon, it was our turn for pictures. After a couple of initial photos, I turned her around towards the ocean and began my proposal "speech". Despite my rapidly beating heart in the moment, I was able to enjoy her beautiful smile as she gave me the official "YES" and a reaction full of excitement that I will never forget.