We're getting married!

Mike and Brie have known each other for most of their lives. If you’d ask Mike, he’d tell you that Brie caught his eye the first time he saw her, and that he spent “years and years chasing” her from a young age. What started as a grade school crush that was sparked on the Little League baseball field eventually led to sharing their “first kiss” during a youthful game of Spin the Bottle in a friend’s basement (complete with Dorito breath and sweaty palms). They spent their middle and early high school years enjoying time with friends & seeing other people; although the timing for anything more was never quite right, they always remained the closest of friends. Almost every morning before homeroom and in between classes, they would sit together in the hallway shooting the breeze until the bell would ring (again, Mike would tell you that this was all a part of his plan to sweep Brie off her feet!)… Brie finally gave in to Mike’s flirtatious antics in 2012, when she was a junior and Mike a senior. One night while hanging out with their mutual group of friends after a football game, it just clicked, & the rest is history. Some may say that their story is that of true high school sweethearts (though Brie and Mike would probably roll their eyes at that expression!). After high school, Mike and Brie endured the ups and downs of a long-distance college relationship, but had a blast spending most of their weekends together whether it was in State College, Williamsport, or back home in Shamokin. The distance between them was stretched across state lines when Mike moved to Orlando for work in 2017 and Brie stayed behind to pursue her master’s degree. Brie spent summers and many extended-stays-worth of exploring sunny Florida with Mike before (FINALLY) making her move to FL join him in September 2020. They’ve been enjoying their time with each other & getting settled into their first official home together, and are looking forward to their many more adventures to come.

After months of planning and talking with friends and family (and a last minute location change due to a cold and rainy weekend in Hilton Head Island, SC), Mike booked a “getaway beach trip” to Lido Key, FL for Brie’s Spring Break. To Brie’s knowledge, this wasn’t going to be unlike the many other weekend beach trips they’ve shared over the last couple of years - plans to bar-hop, maybe (but probably not) rent a jet ski?! When they arrived on Friday afternoon, Mike began a 24hr-long game of hyping Brie up about “an awesome excursion” he had secretly planned for them Saturday evening. After a few drinks & endless pestering from Brie on the first night, Mike may or may not have tried to convince her that they were going ***snorkeling at sunset***, which Brie may or may not have been REALLY stoked about, until Mike told her while she was getting ready that evening that she should probably wear something nice…hmm, something seems fishy (pun intended)… They were walking along the water collecting seashells (because they had to “WALK ABOUT HALF A MILE” to the boat that would be taking them snorkeling!) when Brie looked up to find Mike on one knee. In awe and under lots of tears, Brie readily said “YES!” to forever. As cliché as a beach proposal may be, the moment was something out of a dream for Brie, and a perfect moment for the both of them to look back on for years to come. We would like to thank two great friends of ours for making our engagement so special & memorable. First, we are forever grateful to our Florida Mom, Vicky White, who for months helped Mike to plan our proposal weekend and find the perfect ring for Brie - we will miss you on our wedding day, but we will always carry a piece of you with us. Secondly, a huge thank you to Chad Sienkiewicz, who drove over an hour to hide out incognito on the beach and catch some awesome photos of the proposal that we'll be able to cherish forever (and a big thanks for the six-pack, too!).