You never really know what you're going to find in downtown Las Vegas. It could be Elvis or it could be a cross-dressing street performer. Finding the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with? Seemingly not likely. Until a first date brought us to see a band we had never heard of. This is the story of Marissa and Michael.

Marissa is a registered nurse who found her way to Las Vegas by way of Gilroy, California. Unsure of what she wanted to go to school for, she ultimately graduated from San Jose State with a degree in Public Relations. The idea of working in the city was appealing. She had always dreamt of a life in New York City. The job itself was not where she wanted to be. She was stuck in a career where every morning started off with the stress of putting together an unwrinkled "business casual" outfit, followed by 1.5 hours of stop-and-go traffic to go to a job she wasn't passionate about. One morning, she found herself at a stoplight pondering her future. At this stoplight, she witnessed two girls crossing the street in hospital scrubs and thought to herself "Those look comfy!". Fast forward two years later and Marissa can be found sporting those comfy scrubs at Spring Valley Hospital, where she finds her cup is full when she is caring for people in their most vulnerable state.

Michael's mother was a fire department dispatcher, his father was retired from the Air Force and his brother was a firefighter so when it came time to figure out what he wanted to do after high school, he decided to follow in his family's footsteps and joined the Air Force as a firefighter. Wanting to be closer to his father after his time in the military and not liking Florida much, he made his way to Las Vegas where he has worked for the City of Las Vegas as a firefighter/ paramedic for the past 9 years.

June 4th, 2022, the start of us. What started off as an awkward beginning to a first date has blossomed into a relationship filled with a lot more awkward and beautiful moments. From the first " I love you" to the moment we were engaged. We've never left each other's side and in some ways, it feels as if that first date has never stopped.

We bonded over our love for decorating for the holidays, theme parks, and West Side Story, a musical both our NY native fathers introduced to us. While we do enjoy the DINK life (dual income, no kids), it's our dream to get married and start a family. Our journey to achieve just that leads us to December 8, 2024, in New York, a date that couldn't come sooner! We cannot wait to have all our closest family and friends by our side as we vow to love one another, decorate for many holidays to come, plan future Disney/Universal trips, and enrich our future children's lives by introducing them to the great works of Leonard Bernstein.

In the meantime, you can follow us on Instagram where you'll find stories filled with our dogs, Disney, and DIY projects which include building onto our infamous Halloween/Christmas villages. @marissagomez @burgoliscious