Often times, the best kind of love stories unfold in the most unexpected places at the most unpredicted times. For Allison and Christian, it all began in a nursing home.

They first met at Arch Plaza Nursing and Rehab, where Christian was forced by his mom to be a volunteer for the staff’s EKG certifications. As fate and divine intervention would have it, their initial interaction—literally and figuratively—signaled the start of something new: Allison had to take an EKG of Christian’s heart.

Months later, Christian began working full-time at Arch, where he didn’t waste any time shooting his shot, despite being rejected numerous times. Allison wanted to keep it strictly professional in the workplace. But that didn’t last very long. Through Snapchat conversations, workouts and running at Turnberry Circle, they got to know each other on a deeper level, outside of work. Allison’s best friend, Jessica, took matters into her own hands and took Allison’s phone and texted Christian, asking him if he wanted to get ice cream at Cream Parlor—their first date.

It wasn’t until Allison took a summer trip to the Philippines that she realized she was falling hard for Christian. Even a world away, Allison was in constant communication with Christian whenever she found WiFi. And, likewise, Christian was excited to text her back, even losing lots of sleep after working late night shifts at the nursing home. It was during this trip that they both dreamt of each other for the first time. More significantly, Christian dreamt of Allison wearing a white dress on the beach.

A few months after Allison’s trip, Christian took Allison on a fries date and asked her to be his girlfriend on November 5, 2017. In 2020, they started their next big chapter: They moved in together, along with Allison’s brother Clarky and their dogs Sam and Coco. For Allison’s 30th birthday, they went on a trip to Tulum, Mexico, where Christian proposed beneath the most beautiful sunrise sky—to Allison wearing a white dress at the beach—just as he dreamt of years ago. She said “Yes!” to the man she’s been praying for all along.

-  A special thank you to our favorite story teller Maureen Aimee Mariano-Williams (Allison’s best friend and Matron of Honor) for capturing our love story so beautifully.