As you all know, Brittany is highly awarded and the best wedding planner in the industry who coordinates and manages everything involved to make a wedding successful. I am sure that it is no surprise that she is coordinating and managing our own wedding as well. In doing so, she has assigned me (Nicholas) with the task of writing “Our Origin Story” about how we met and got engaged, which I am happy to do.
Not having played softball in over 6 years, and after turning down repeated offers from my friend Danny to play again over the years, I finally agreed to go out and play as a fill-in on a team that was short a player. The stars must have been aligned because I certainly didn’t know that the decision to play again would eventually lead to me writing this.
On March 3rd, 2022, I had just arrived at the Arroyo Grande Sports Complex parking lot in Henderson for my first softball game in years. Nervous, having not played in a while and not wanting to embarrass myself, I reluctantly began walking toward the fields. While still in the parking lot, I first walked by Danny’s car and we chatted a bit while he was still getting ready and before continuing toward the fields.
While we were chatting, I noticed two more players unloading and getting ready, and who were wearing the same team jersey as Danny. One of the two was Brittany. Immediately, I noticed how beautiful she is which only made me more nervous to play since I now especially didn’t want to make a fool of myself.
While proceeding to the field, Brittany was also ready and walked to the fields with us after a quick initial introduction was made. In addition to thinking Brittany was gorgeous, she was also very sweet and welcoming. During the walk I learned that she was one of the team coaches.
Despite my nerves to play, I hit a triple on my first at bat. For me, the best part of the play was that Brittany was coaching third base and her saying “okay, okay” in a way that suggested she was impressed by my at bat. Actually, it was me who was impressed by her as I spent the entire game admiring her.
Unfortunately, my follow up at bats didn’t go as well as my first. A poorly hit ground ball to short, and then a poorly hit ground ball to third, only to pull my hamstring trying to beat out the throw to first. Regardless of my embarrassingly poor at bats, she remained as upbeat, sweet, and positive as she did after my first at bat. She encouraged me to keep swinging, and that I would ‘find it’. I never did find it that night, but I enjoyed being out there regardless, mostly because of her.
After the games, several of the players hung out in the parking lot where Brittany and I were able to talk. She was so open and passionate and the chemistry her and I had was immediate and undeniable. I knew immediately that there was a depth to her worth exploring. Despite my underwhelming first game, I was asked to continue playing on the team which I agreed to, and over the next several weeks and months, I often stayed late after games and hung out just to be around her.
Although I was confident Brittany and I had a connection, I later learned that she was in a relationship with the other softball coach which I was disappointed about. It made me question the type of connection we had. I didn’t understand what she saw in her boyfriend and the stark difference between he and I suggested to me that she likely wouldn’t be interested in me if she were single. So, I spent over a year dating to ultimately find that nobody lived up to what I saw in Brittany.
What I did not know at the time is that she was also interested, and she too questioned why she was with her boyfriend. However, those that I dated also made her question whether I would ever be interested in her if she were single. It was these incorrect assumptions about whether the other would be interested that prevented us from loving each other a bit longer, but the friendship we were able to establish and grow during that time also probably helped lead to the strength of relationship that we have now.
When Brittany finally ended her relationship, we told each other how we felt which quickly led to us making plans to go on a date… at Disneyland… which we fulfilled not long after we began seeing each other. In fact, it was at Disneyland, the center point between both Disneyland and California Adventure, where I told Brittany that I loved her for the first time.
The next year and a half are by far the best of my life and led me to asking her to marry me. We share common goals and values, have similar interests, and we make an incredible team. For me, our time together is a confirmation of exactly who I thought Brittany to be. In addition to being so beautiful, she is incredibly sweet, sincere, caring, and selfless. She is also incredibly hard working, determined, dedicated, but most importantly (again) selfless.
During our time together, we have met and fallen in love with each other’s families, continued playing softball together, have even worked together, shared ideas, our goals, our dreams, and have travelled together, including to both Disneyland and Disney World, numerous times each.
I was ready to ask her to marry me long before I ever asked. In fact, what Brittany doesn’t know, and will only know after reading this, is that on May 15, 2023 at 6:08am, soon after she ended her previous relationship and we began talking, I made a prediction about her and I. In my Apple Notes, I wrote “I have already known this for several days but am putting it in here so it is time stamped as a prediction. Brittany is my person and I will marry her!”
I would have asked Brittany to marry me sooner, but we had booked a trip going to St. Lucia, then to Disney World and then on a Disney Cruise. I certainly never thought I would be the guy to get engaged at a Disney Park, but I also wasn’t initially planning to ask her there.
Initially, I thought I would ask her when we were in St. Lucia, but once we were there it just didn’t feel right. It wasn’t the special place that Disney had become to us, and so within hours of being in St. Lucia I knew I had to ask while we were at Disney World instead.
When we finally got to Disney World, we ‘rope dropped’ and rode one of our favorite rides (Tron) a couple times before I suggested we ride Haunted Mansion, which is on the other side of the park knowing we would have to walk past the castle, at which time I intended to propose. However, once we were at the castle they were doing a show directly in front of it forcing me to wait.
After riding Haunted Mansion, I told her I wanted to get a snack with the plan of taking her back to the castle. When we got there it was mostly empty since everyone had left the area once the show ended. She said she wanted to take a picture, which of course was perfect. I said okay and got down on one knee immediately after taking our picture and said “you are my person, you are my soulmate, you are the love of my life, you are my everything, you are my Princess, will you be my happily ever after?”
Brittany said “yes”, making me the happiest and luckiest man alive.