Our relationship began as a modern love story, by matching on the dating app Hinge in fall of 2020. We met for the first time at the Three Whistles coffee shop in Arlington, VA on a sunny morning in early December. After some sweet conversation over lattes and pastries, we both left excited to see where things might go.


Our second date was a picnic - Nick asked Justina to meet him at the Whole Foods in town, and in true ‘Nick’ fashion he said, “We’ll have five minutes to each choose three items for the picnic. No talking about it, just choose. We’ll meet back at the register in 5. Ready, Go!” and ran off down an aisle. Justina, ever the Type A personality, immediately began panicking wondering ‘what if we both get cheese, meat, and wine??’ Nick, already anticipating Justina’s needs, grabbed fruit, bread, and chocolate instead, balancing their picnic perfectly. We enjoyed our bounty at the Marine Corps Memorial Park on an unseasonably warm December day, overlooking the National Mall and watching the sun set over the monuments.


By our third date we were ready for dinner at a restaurant, and the harsh winds of winter were back in full force. Justina chose a sushi place a few blocks from her apartment, and bundled up against the harsh winter winds, Justina did her best to speed walk to the restaurant. As she reached for the door, a man’s arm came around and opened it for her - the man was Nick! “Oh wow, were you behind me the whole time?” Justina asked. Nick replied, “I’ve been gaining on you for a few blocks, but I didn’t know if you had headphones in or something.” After realizing they came from the same direction, Justina asked Nick where he lived - he said The Meridian. That’s when we realized we lived in the exact same apartment building without even knowing it!

Over the next year we had so much fun exploring Arlington and DC - hosting a crawfish boil for friends for Memorial Day, watching the Fourth of July fireworks over the National Mall, and enjoying many more coffee and picnic dates, to name a few. By May of 2021, we were “official.” Nick helped Justina stay sane as she taught elementary music with all the covid restrictions (we weren’t allowed to sing, dance, or share instruments…) and Justina gave Nick a reason to leave his room in the hours he wasn’t working remotely for the Pentagon or coding an app with his buddy Dane. Nick got to experience his first Seven Fishes Christmas Eve Feast with the Espositos, and both our families were thrilled that we had maybe found “the one.”

In 2022 our relationship grew and deepened, taking our first international trip to Mexico, attending 13 (!) weddings together all around the country, and continuing to support each other through life’s challenges and triumphs. Nick promoted to Captain in the United States Air Force, and Justina had the honor of pinning on his new rank on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Nick was officially welcomed into Justina’s college friend group by gaining an invite to their annual Fourth of July trip to Nantucket.

In August, we decided to take the next step in our relationship and move in together, and we were thrilled that it was an easy transition for both of us. More time in the day with your best friend?? Heck yeah.

2023 brought more adventures, like meeting Justina’s (almost Nick’s!) nephew the day he was born, watching the horses race at the Preakness in Baltimore, and sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. We took another international trip, this time to England, where we explored London, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds, Oxford, and Cambridge. Justina decided to change careers, and Nick supported her through every minute of it.

By the end of the year we were looking at engagement rings, and in between pumpkin and apple picking, attending concerts, and a trip to Shenandoah with friends, life together got sweeter and sweeter.

In early 2024 we enjoyed visits with family, our first Indian wedding (shouts out to Zoie and Vijesh!), happy hour in the Library of Congress, and a day trip to a Netherlands-inspired tulip farm. In May we moved to our townhouse in Old Town Alexandria, and we were so excited to finally live in our favorite place.

On June 1st, Nick took Justina back to the park where we had our second date for a picnic. It was there, with the backdrop of the National Mall, that he got on one knee and asked her to marry him (it was a resounding “yes!”). We still reminisce about the excitement of that day, FaceTiming family and friends to tell them the good news, then enjoying our picnic just the two of us to take it all in before enjoying dinner at a Michelin star restaurant in DC and then meeting up with friends at the Irish pub in town for some nighttime celebration.

The rest of the year flew by in a blink, as Justina’s mom Karen threw us an amazing engagement party, we booked our venue, band, florist and all, and we reveled in our excitement at taking the next steps towards beginning the rest of our lives together.

2025 has been the year of “us” already, with weekly “Wedding Wednesdays” when we set aside time to talk about all things wedding and plan for our life together. Between Nick’s shifts in the White House, we’re working through pre-Cana (marriage preparation) with our church, ironing out the details of things like table numbers and place settings, and throughout all of it we’re learning even more about each other as our love grows deeper and deeper.

This summer we’re looking forward to Justina’s bridal shower, our bachelor and bachelorette trips, wedding gown and tux fittings, and so much more, but we really can’t wait for August 29th when we get to celebrate our love with all of you. Thank you to each and every person who has supported us along the way and helped us get to this point. A special thanks to our moms - Karen and Jocelyn - for being such amazing cheerleaders throughout our relationship and for ensuring our wedding weekend is the perfect start to our next chapter together. We love all of you so much and can’t wait for all the celebration to come!!!