We met in the summer of 2020 in our hometown of Ozark, MO. Because we were attending different colleges, the first two and a half years of our relationship was long distance. We each became very familiar with the drive between Columbia, MO and Chicago, IL, and often spent whatever long weekends and breaks we could with each other. Some of our favorite memories include swimming in Lake Michigan, walking the streets of downtown Chicago, eating good Italian food, and tailgating MU football games.

In 2022, that drive became progressively shorter when Jess moved home for her spring semester, and then transferred to MU that fall. We both graduated from the University of Missouri in December of 2023, Nick with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Jess with a BA in Psychological Sciences. This was the same weekend Nick was commissioned into the United States Marine Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant.

In March 2024, Nick reported to The Basic School in Quantico, VA to begin his career as a Marine officer. Jess stayed in Columbia to continue working and began taking online classes for her master’s degree in social work. Jess visited him on a handful of holiday weekends, often enjoying Alexandria or Fredericksburg during our time together. A particularly memorable trip was Fourth of July weekend, when we became engaged at the Alexandria waterfront. Finally, after seven months apart, Jess traveled to Quantico one last time to celebrate Nick’s graduation from TBS (in the top 5% of his company!).

On October 11, the two of us were married in a small ceremony along the same waterfront in Alexandria, VA where Nick proposed. Because of Nick’s quick turnaround in duty stations, the two of us decided that this was the best way to ensure that we could be together when Nick reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola to begin his journey of training to become a pilot. While we would have loved for all of our friends and family to have celebrated with us at this time, the logistics proved too difficult to carry out. So, we decided to do what many military couples do: have a small civil ceremony and a big celebration later on!

We can't wait to celebrate with all of our loved ones in December, and hope that you can make it!