OUR STORY
VINNY'S PERSPECTIVE
Our story begins like so many others—boy meets girl, boy falls hard for girl who is way out of his league, boy tries everything to win her over… and gets completely shut down. But, as fate would have it, one day the girl realizes the boy might just be worth a chance.
It all started in a faraway land—Saudi Arabia—where we were both deployed with the Air Force, running combat operations in the scorching desert. And I mean hot in every sense of the word. That’s where Vinny first laid eyes on Nikki. She was standing in line, getting ready to leave for deployment, and all Vinny could think was, “Dang, she’s beautiful… I’m going to marry that girl.”
From that moment, Vinny had a mission—win Nikki’s heart. He even told his supervisor about her, and that supervisor, being the ultimate wingman, made sure they were always paired up. His first move? Assigning Nikki the job of teaching Vinny how to drive stick shift. The official reason? Driving pilots to their jets. The real reason? Giving Vinny as much quality time with Nikki as possible. As an added bonus, every Saturday, they were sent on a special errand—picking up shawarma for the shop—just the two of them.
Vinny pulled out every trick in the book to impress Nikki, but she wasn’t falling for it. Not yet, anyway. He even brought her a special gift—a glass bottle filled with Saudi Arabian sand, shaped into a picture of a camel. Sand art. He told her that one day, when they got married, they would mix their sands together. Smooth, right? Nikki’s response? She took the gift… and ran. Vinny was left standing there, wondering if his charm was broken.
Weeks passed, and as they spent more time together, their connection grew. But Vinny still wasn’t sure if he had a shot—until everything changed back in the States. During in-processing on base, he got the text from Nikki:
Nikki: “What are you doing after in-processing?”
Vinny: “Going back to Shawano to see family. How about you?”
Nikki: “Hanging out with you.”
And from that moment on, the rest was history. That’s how we got here today.
NIKKI'S PERSPECTIVE
In the sand swept desert of Saudi Arabia, I found myself in the constant company of a young Airman. He seemed to follow me wherever I went. At a commander’s luncheon, briefings, and it so happened I was tasked to teach him how to drive stick shift. After torturous hours in his companionship, I realized his redeeming quality – espresso
That caffeine-fueled deployment eventually ended, and we both returned to our separate homes. But fate had other plans. During inprocessing, we crossed paths once again, and I learned his second redeeming quality—an absolute willingness to throw himself down a mountain for me. Snowboarding for the first time, no hesitation.
What started as a 48-hour whirlwind of snow-covered slopes, breakfast with friends, meeting family, and falling—on the mountain and for each other—became something undeniable. By the end of it, I knew one thing for certain: I never wanted to spend another day without him.
