Melanie and I met 7 years ago through our mutual friend, Joe (Best Man).

One day, Joe and I were headed to our friends house before a car show, As we get there. A stunning woman wearing cowboy boots and a smile like no other is at our buddy's house. We introduced ourselves, and I learned her name was Mel.

At the car show, The group split up and I was busy taking pictures of the cars and events. I noticed that Mel wanted to hanging out with me. She kept asking questions and was more interested in me then the car show. As the night went on, the event got a bit chaotic, and I found myself trying to take pictures, stay safe, and keep an eye on Mel.

I told her I was done taking pictures even though i basically just started but I wanted to get to know her better, and see that beautiful smile. After the car show the group headed back to the houseboat. At the houseboat we jumped in the water and partied (Teenagers being teenagers). A while later I asked Mel if she could model for some pictures, and she agreed. We met at a spot just outside of Winters, CA. During the shoot we had time to talk about our likes and dislikes, and all that. we connected really well. She loved the pictures and used them as her graduation pictures. We would eventually spend more time together at parties and just over text. We began to realize that our feelings for each other were growing, but Mel was in a relationship at the time. Over the next few years, I went to college started working but we always stayed in touch . I would check on her on good days, bad days, or when she was in the hospital.

Eventually, I received a text from Mel asking if we could Hangout and talk, I Agreed. We then spent the following weeks discussing her medical situation more in depth. We eventually started dating on September 24th, and within a week, we had moved in together.

Mels medical issues never changed the way I saw her. I was determined to stick by her side. We've created so many wonderful memories together, and I can not wait to make many more.

Now, on May 17, 2025, I’ll be marrying this amazing woman, and it’s all thanks to our good friend, Joe Vnuk.

Patrick and I met 7 years ago. One day in 2018 I had made plans with my old friend Damian to go to a car show. We were going with a few other guys in our friend groups so he had us all meet at his house. As the rest of the group arrived, I had no idea the man of my dreams was about to walk through that door. I had known our friend 9 for a while but this was the first time I had met Patrick and Joe. As I was getting to know them for an few minutes before we left, there was something about Patrick that kept catching my attention. He was easy to talk to, super funny, and had the cutest laugh. We got to the car show and we all were having a blast. The guys went and did their thing, and pat and I stayed back while he was taking pictures and I was bugging him with questions to get to know him better. After the car show the group ended up spending the night at the houseboat. We spent the next day jumping in the cold winter water, going wakeboarding, and living our teenage life to the fullest.
After that weekend, we met up a few times at some of our friend’s parties, FaceTimed all the time, and quickly became really good friends. One day he asked me to model for some pictures and we met up in a spot just outside of winters Ca, where he took my graduation photos. Durning that time we both began to realized we were started to like each other a little more than friends.
When Patrick went to college and I started working, we started to get busy with life and and didn’t hang out that much. The one thing that always stood out to me was that no matter what was going on in life, Patrick would always check in. When I was having a bad day, he would ask what’s wrong. When I was having a good day he would cheer me on. When I was in the hospital he would always ask me if I’m ok.
We always stayed friends even when we were seeing other people, but the timing was never right. Whenever I would think about Patrick, I always told myself if the timing was right I would jump at the chance to date him. Finally the our time came on September 24, 2023 and Now I’m the luckiest girl in the world to get to marry my best friend on May 17, 2025.