It all started when Lonnie finally decided to send that message to Denise on Instagram while he was still stationed overseas in the military. When he finished his deployment and visited their hometown they had their initial “date” and bonded over a botched tequila order which is partly why the wedding is in Mexico now.After a couple more dates in Ohio, Lonnie got stationed in California but things between them were still trending in the right direction, even though they had to do the long distance thing for a while.
Shortly after, the relationship was accelerated and fate brought them even closer when Covid turned Denise’s intended 4 week visit into a 3 month stay. Their connection blossomed and just 6 months after they originally got together Denise took the bold leap of faith and moved across the country for love. After that the rest is history…….
Once Lonnie knew that Denise was the women he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, he began planning the perfect proposal. After months of carefully gathering details about her dream ring, he sent everything this trusted jeweler, a friend he'd met while stationed in Bahrain with the Coast Guard.
As the ring was being custom made, Lonnie and Denise booked a cruise to the Bahamas with her family, and Lonnie knew that this would be the ideal setting to pop the question. To keep the surprise he had the ring shipped to a friends house overseas to ensure Denise wouldn't accidentally find it, and then he waited 6 long months until the cruise finally arrived.
On the second day of the trip while they were at a poolside club on a private island, with the backdrop of the palm trees blue ocean and the company of her family, Lonnie knew the moment had come, He enlisted the DJ's help to pull off a little trick, They told Denise she had won a special prize. Excited, she rushed to the front of the crowd eager to claim her mystery getaway. As she turned around, there he was down on one knee, holding out the ring she had always dreamed of. The moment was perfect. Surrounded by family, on a tropical island, with the love of his life by his side, Lonnie asked the question that would change their lives forever.