We met the way all the cool kids meet these days…online! We both swiped left or right or whatever direction it was, and what do you know, it was a match! He reached out first and asked if my personality was just as good as my smile. Of course he realized shortly after that it was! We chatted for a little, then he asked if we could talk on the phone. Now, anyone who knows me, knows I am not really a phone talker (especially with random guys I’ve never even met). But I agreed, so we set a date and time to have said phone call. That phone call lasted 6 hours!! And honestly, it felt like I was talking to a friend, not a stranger. It was so comfortable, and flowed so well. My favorite part was, every time he asked me a question and I gave an answer he agreed with, or said something I liked that he also liked he responded with “YES!” And he sounded so relieved and excited, kind of like he was realizing that he too was finding his person. Our first date was at a brewery about halfway between where each other was living. He at the time was in Winston-Salem, me in Gastonia (about an hour and a half apart). Our second date of course was an after work hike (because I could not go any further in this relationship without making sure he enjoyed my favorite hobby). And the rest…well, I guess you could say it’s worked out pretty well for both of us! I am so excited to get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend, my biggest supporter, the one who makes me laugh, and who wants to help me accomplish all my goals. The most patient man, who understands my sarcasm, shares in all my dreams, and who loves me unconditionally. See you all in September! ~The future Kristin Manicki

Kristin and I have so much chemistry and have been able to develop our relationship through spending time together during our different hobbies such as cooking, hiking, and working on landscape projects. I love her competitive spirit and willingness to always challenge me to be the best version of myself. I feel like I developed a pretty good relationship with Kristin’s family and it all felt so right and seemed to flow the way I would want things to. I appreciate all her parents and siblings efforts in getting to know me over the last year+ and it really speaks volumes to the kind of welcoming people they are and added to the reason why I wanted to marry Kristin. At the end of September this past year, I had decided that she was the one I could see spending the rest of my life with and realized I was ready to propose and needed to find the perfect ring in order to do that. I had no idea how to really approach something like that, but after some time, I was able to design the ring myself and have it built the exact way I had envisioned. Once I actually had the ring in my possession I elected to hide it in a shoe box at the top of my closet, luckily Kristin couldn’t reach up there so I knew it wasn’t going to be found. In November of 2022 I decided to FaceTime with David and Ann (her parents) and let them know I wanted to marry Kristin! Kristin’s dad thought I was going to ask about their opinion for a new pair of hiking shoes for her. I reassured them that I was fully committed and very happy with where things were headed. Now I just had to figure how I wanted to pop the big question. With a follow up FaceTime call with David and Ann I told them I wanted to propose in front of the whole family around Christmas time. I know how important Kristin’s family is to her and I wanted to make sure they were all included. We had plans to go to Florida to celebrate Christmas with her family so I thought that would be the perfect time! Kristin’s siblings Stephanie and Ryan along with her dog Ginger would all be there. After we had dinner, her mom suggested we take some pictures in front of the tree before we exchanged gifts. I was feeling a bit anxious, but some other part of me was confident I knew how it would turn out. When it was our turn to take a picture, I took out the little black box I was hiding in my pocket, got down on one knee and asked if she would marry me. And she said “of course! Yes!!”. I had asked the question on December 29th, 2022! It was hard keeping that secret to myself for almost two months (and just as hard for her dad), but I did it and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made!