Marisa and Nick both attended the University of Florida and crossed paths a few times before Nick graduated in 2016, but never struck up a friendship there. It wasn’t until the summer of 2017, when Marisa got an internship at Eglin AFB, Nick’s first duty station, that they started spending time together.

Their summer was full of sunny days at the beach, on boats, and at what are now their favorite spots to eat and drink on the Emerald Coast. They floated at Crab Island, played shuffleboard at Red Door, saw lots of movies on rainy days, ate tacos from Burrito del Sol and watched sunsets on Nick’s upper deck.

Naturally, it didn’t take long for them to fall for each other, and they started dating on June 8, 2017.

After that blissful summer, Marisa had her senior year to complete at UF. Marisa and Nick frequented I-10 for visits at Florida and back up at Destin/FWB. That year, they finally got to share in all things Gators, attending football games and tailgates together and frequenting all the student favorites and hidden gems Gainesville has to offer.

After Marisa graduated, she was stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio for about a year and a half. Nick was still stationed at Eglin for part of that time and they did their best to see each other as frequently as possible. They made vacations out of most of their visits, exploring Nashville, Chicago, and Cleveland, skiing and hiking in Colorado, and even adventuring in Hawaii!

During that time, both Nick and Marisa were selected to become RPA Pilots. Nick went through training first, with Marisa starting about a year later. Marisa and Nick visited and supported each other wherever training took them, from Colorado and San Antonio to California and New Mexico.

After completing training, Marisa and Nick's prayers were answered and they were stationed in Las Vegas, NV together. This ended the long distance period of their relationship and they thanked God for carrying them through it. Once in Vegas, they quickly made up for lost time and bought their first house together.

Almost five years later, Marisa and Nick returned to Destin, FL for a relaxed winter visit. During that visit, on January 26, 2022, Nick got down on one knee right where it all started.

After planning a winter visit to Destin in January 2022, Marisa started having suspicions that Nick might propose there since it holds a very special place in their hearts.

Nick had a feeling Marisa might suspect this, so he did his best to throw her off, and it worked. After spending 5 days or so relaxing, returning to their favorite spots, and even walking on the beach, no proposal had come. Marisa’s mom, Alicia, had even joined them a few days in, but still nothing. Marisa was a little disappointed, but accepted that Nick must have another plan.

On their last day, Nick told Marisa he needed to walk to the beach to take some pictures for his rental property. Earlier in the week, Nick had subtlety suggested getting some champagne for mimosas with breakfast, something they regularly do on vacation, but it never ended up getting used. He reminded Marisa it hadn't been drank and slyly added we were running out of room in our suitcases.

At this point Marisa had put the proposal out of her mind and was completely clueless. She decided herself the champagne shouldn’t go to waste and to bring it with them to drink on the beach while taking the pictures. Nick didn’t object, and Marisa’s mom agreed it was a fun idea.

They walked to the beach access nearby and set up camp right by the shore. Nick waited a bit and they even got through a whole bottle before anything was set in motion. Finally, Marisa’s mom said she wanted to take a picture of her and Nick. Marisa still suspected nothing, as this is a common request from her mom, and agreed.

Once clear of passersby, Nick and Marisa got up and walked toward the water. While trying to find the right spot, Marisa kept grabbing for Nick’s hand. Nick tried to tell her to figure out which way to face first, but Marisa insisted, not knowing the ring was in the hand she was trying to grab!

In an effort to not drop the ring or ruin the surprise Nick decided to hold up the ring for Marisa to see when she turned around again. Marisa was shocked when she saw it!

Once she did, Nick kneeled in the sand and asked her to marry him! Marisa couldn’t stop laughing out of shock and joy. She was putting all the pieces together now and couldn’t believe she had fallen for it! Marisa of course said yes and her mom got the whole thing on video!

Later that night, they celebrated at one of their favorite restaurants, Boshamp's. What a wonderful conclusion to the trip!