We met working in the Army’s Holistic Health program—Tom was the OT, I was the Dietitian. He prescribed stretches, I prescribed snacks. Between ruck talk, MRE jokes, and side-eyes during meetings, we accidentally fell for each other. Turns out, love really is tactical. Now we’re each other’s forever mission—no PT test required.

A spontaneous 6-hour road trip to a country concert early in our “are-we-doing-this?” phase. She had an extra ticket and took a chance—I said yes, then nervously talked the entire drive. She thought, “Does this guy ever stop talking?” but we laughed the whole way. With no distractions, just the open road, country music, and each other, that weekend was when everything clicked. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

We’re buying our first home and hosting our wedding there this September—where we’ll laugh, love, and dance in the kitchen like no one’s watching (hopefully)! Tom had a serious injury in the Army, so between that, wedding bills, home repairs, and future tiny humans running down the hall, $20,000 would ease the load and help us turn our house into a home full of love, joy, and a lot of snacks!