Nicci Isaacs took Kent Kochsmeier to Florida in March 2006 to celebrate their five-year “date-iversary.” “I had gone to Florida every summer growing up,” explains Isaacs, 23, a student and nanny. “I hadn’t been there since I was 13. I knew it was a fun vacation spot, especially over spring break.”
On the first day in Clearwater Beach, the couple grabbed a casual dinner at a restaurant and took a stroll.
Unbeknownst to Isaacs, Kochsmeier carried an engagement ring. “I was waiting for the opportune moment to bring it out,” says Kochsmeier, 24, a film student. “It took all evening, until we were walking down the beach. It was right after sundown, so it was still warm, and the tide hadn’t come in all the way, so you could walk on the beach. She was looking out to the ocean and loving the fact that it was so pretty, so perfect.”
Isaacs remembers feeling super-relaxed on the beach that night. “For the first time ever, I was in la-la land,” she says. “It was just so beautiful, so warm. I was totally in a mood. I don’t know how to explain it. It was totally a great moment, and I think that’s why he was like ‘Oh, I have to do it now.”‘
“When he got down on his knee,’ she adds, “I’m pretty sure he was getting wet.”
She accepted the proposal and proceeded to call everybody she knew. Once family and friends heard the news, she went on to tell everybody that walked by.
“I was basically telling the entire world,” she laughs.
Their Jan. 11 winter wedding stood in stark contrast to that warm March night. With the season’s first bitter cold snap rolling in, family and friends joined the couple for the Thursday-afternoon ceremony at Foothills Chapel in Golden.
Earlier in the week, the bride explained: “He’s the most generous, caring guy that I’ve ever known, and it’d be the stupidest thing ever if I let that go.”
Send suggestions for future Vows to freelance journalist Roxanne Hawn at denverpostvows@wispertel.net.
