As Christine and her sister, Mer, were sipping rose on the Miss Avalon in August 2022, Mer said, “That guy in church this morning was pretty cute.” Christine had noticed (and it turns out so had Kevin). Having been Sea Isle neighbors for years, the Mitchell and McLaren parents were “hi friends,” but that morning Christine and Kevin met in passing inside St. Joseph’s.

The following July, Christine was swiping on a dating app on the way home from a night out at the shore and immediately matched with Kevin. After exchanging a few messages, they planned to meet for a drink the next weekend. Christine snuck away from a cousin party, thinking the date would be a quick drink or two and met Kevin on the corner. Kevin’s immediate reaction to Christine’s posture? vibe? Billabong surfer dress? was, “This girl is too metropolitan.” By the end of the first drink, though, he was warming up enough to order a second that turned into a third. They talked about Sea Isle, work, bad entrepreneurial ideas, and Kevin’s upcoming trip to Israel with his brother – his first vacation in 10 years and his chance to completely turn off his phone. Having been to Israel in business school, Christine was excited for Kevin’s travel but not the 10-days-to-lose-momentum-after-a-first-date thing.

When they left the bar, Kevin said, “Should we go somewhere else?” Christine, having had no dinner but still having fun, grabbed a slice of pizza and bought herself a little more time. Even on the first date, Christine knew Kevin, and she wanted to stick around in his head (at least for a second date!) during his trip. So, the night ended with her opening a door, “You’re leaving to pack for Israel tomorrow? But then when are you going to kiss me?”

He texted the next morning and in the airport in London on the way back.

That was the first of many marathon dates that summer. Leading up to the next summer, they made a list of things to do to really maximize the season. On the weekend of their first date a year later, Kevin and Christine woke up early to watch the sunrise on the beach to check one of those items off the list and ended up with two: being engaged!