Melanie and Andrew first met on February 21, 2012. They met for drinks at Three Monkeys in Richmond, Virginia. Hours flew by as they talked about all sorts of things but particularly connected on 2 major things - traveling and college football.

For the next 3 years, Andrew and Melanie's relationship blossomed, especially around those two items. Saturdays in the fall are reserved for football. They have gone to countless games - cheering on James Madison, Virginia Tech, and Ohio State (sometimes simultaneously). Melanie took Andrew to see New York City and visit his 47th and 48th states (Connecticut & New Jersey). The next year Andrew drove Melanie across the country from Virginia to see everything west of Ohio and east of Oregon.

Andrew proposed to Melanie on May 16th, 2015 on top of Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The proposal completely took Melanie by surprise even though they had been having serious talks about the next step of their relationship for a while. Andrew had been working on planning the proposal for a while, but was struggling on how and where to do it. About a month before the proposal, Andrew got a call from his friend Chuck asking if they wanted to do a weekend at Nags Head before Memorial Day. That's when the how and where finally hit him: Sunset on Jockey's Ridge.

He quickly set into action to get everything in place to be able to pull it off. Andrew asked Melanie's father for permission, and he approved. For the engagement itself, it was important to Andrew to have Melanie's parents, as well as his parents, there to witness and be a part of the moment. He coordinated with them on getting them down there and staying hidden all day Saturday to keep the element of surprise.

The day arrived and everything went about as according to plan as one could have hoped for. Around 6 that evening Melanie and Andrew ventured to Jockey's Ridge with Chuck, his wife Larri, and son Hunter. Unbeknownst to Melanie, in an observation tower across the highway from the giant sand dune sat her mom (her dad was not able to make it due to another trip), and Andrew's parents. Melanie and Andrew made their way up the sand to the top of the ridge. Taking in the view at the top, Andrew turned to Melanie, dropped to one knee, and asked her to marry him. Melanie said yes, and the rest is history! For one final surprise, as they made their way back toward their car, Andrew pointed to the top of the observation tower where he pointed out to Melanie her mom and his parents waving from the top.