Kristen and John both went to Michigan State University, but missed each other by about a month. Years after they graduated college, they moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. It was there that they met through mutual friends affiliated with the Charlotte MSU Alumni Club.
After John’s Super Bowl party February 1st 2015, he contacted Kristen to go for a drink the following Tuesday or Wednesday. However, Kristen’s only availability was Friday night. John thought, “Wow, She’s giving me a Friday night, guess she likes me!” So they planned to grab a drink and go see the movie American Sniper. Kristen didn’t think anything of it, especially since it wasn’t really a date-type movie. Little did Kristen know, she was going on a date. After John ordered a pitcher of fancy margaritas, it finally clicked for Kristen that she was on a date!
John offered to help Kristen hang a towel rack in her new condo. Little did he know it would take him 3 visits and a couple of trips to Lowe’s to finish the job. The walls in Kristen’s condo are made of doubled up sheet rock. To make matters more interesting, she insisted the towel rack be hung right on an I-beam. Apparently one needs very specific tools & hardware to make this work. To Kristen, all of this was hilarious. She found John's determination to conquer the project to be incredibly attractive. After successfully hanging the towel rack, John gathered the courage to finally make his move for their very first kiss.
Kristen and John’s first real date, according to Kristen, was on Friday, February 20th 2015.
They both love the time era of the 80s (can you blame them? They were both made in the 80s). Together – on a real date - they went to the Upstage NoDa Theatre where the Ghostbusters movie script was being read aloud and re-enacted by a group of actors. However, the reading was an interactive drinking game for the audience and the actors. Needless to say the unique date was a blast and all had a great time. The movie holds a special place in their hearts, “Who ya’ gonna’ call? Ghostbusters!!”
With a hand towel proudly displayed in the guest bathroom, Kristen and John began to date. Before long they decided to go on a cruise together, and found a superb deal with Norwegian Cruise Line. This cruise brought them to the Virgin Islands and Bahamas with family and friends.
The first day of their first cruise together was rather hectic. After the ship’s safety meeting, the group decided to meet on the top deck to watch Port Canaveral fade away. However, John didn’t seem to be “feeling well” and went back to the room, or so Kristen thought. Since everyone on the ship was trying to use the elevators at the same time, John had to sprint up and down the stairs (between floors 5 and 17) of the ship. He had to meet the event coordinator and reserve the venue for which he had planned a surprise proposal for Kristen, on the very first night!
John finally caught up with everyone on the top deck for the sail away, telling them he was feeling better. He claimed to have discovered that one could reserve a "behind the scenes tour of the ship", and that he had done just that for the group. He told everyone he was able to reserve the tour before their dinner reservation. They were to "dress well" and meet on the 17th deck before dinner.
Everyone arrived looking their best, to discover what appeared to be "the captain". The captain asked if they were ready to begin the tour. He lead them through a private entrance to an exclusive VIP sun deck. They walked into a dimly lit, fancy, and unoccupied area of the ship...
John: In my head, I thought,
"Ok... you got this, hold it together. Now remember the words...
Kristen, I’ve known I wanted to be with you since we first danced together to 80s music…
It was another 2 weeks that I had to endure before I got that wonderful first kiss leaving your place; on February 12th 2015.
Right now it's exactly 21 months since we first kissed.. and I am absolutely certain that I want to continue this journey and spend the rest of my life with you.
Kristen Miller, will you marry me?”
Kristen: In my girl brain, I thought,
“Well this is an odd tour…”
Then as we walked further in I saw champagne glasses set up for 2 - again in my head I was like,
“there’s 6 of us, can’t be for us.”
The captain asked everyone to take a seat. John took my hands and began his proposal. He said,
“Kristen, it’s been 21 months since our first kiss and something something something” because in my girl-head I was like… “is this??… I think this might be..… this might be it??… is this it?? this is it! This is TOTALLY it!!”
John got down on one knee and asked Kristen to marry him. She was so excited that in all of their pictures she is blurry, since she was jumping up and down with joy! Kristen was busy with hugging and kissing John, and forgot to answer out loud. Some time passed before John’s cousin Mark, leaned over and asked, “so… is that a yes?” to which she replied “Oh, Yes! YES, of course!”
They were the first to be engaged on the ship that week – a wonderful surprise and a great first day, to start their trip!! Everyone then had champagne and toasted together, followed by a wonderful first dinner with their friends and family.
