Great food and great fun: One of MSAN’s Navy mentors, Monique, is sharing her amazing wedding experience in San Diego, California, on September 11, 2015 (happy belated anniversary!).

From a flirty encounter in a restaurant to a six-day wedding celebration incorporating Nigerian and American traditions, we can’t get enough of this couple’s journey into the start of their military life together.

Tell us about your venue.

Being from southern California, great food was my number one priority for the venue. With my husband being from the Mid-Atlantic region, having an incredible waterfront view was a priority of his for his family members who would be visiting, unfamiliar with San Diego. With that, we landed on Tom Ham’s Lighthouse on the bay in San Diego, CA. Tom Ham’s is an amazing restaurant with stunning views, great outdoor aesthetics, and delicious seafood cuisine. This venue checked all the boxes for both of us.

How did you meet?

We met in San Diego, California, at brunch– Mimi’s Cafe, a Parisian restaurant, to be exact. Funny story, I sent my number to him via the waiter. He called me later that day. We texted back and forth for two weeks after that. Memorial Day, 2010, we went on a date, and the rest is history.

Share your engagement story!

My husband (boyfriend then) was on a partial deployment for the D-Day Anniversary in Normandy, France. He called me and told me he was slated to leave the ship in France and asked how I felt about “coming to hang with him in Paris” for a mini-vacay. He took 10 days of leave, and I met him there for a 7-day stay in Paris, France.

Fast forward to dinner one night at the Eiffel Tower. As we leave the restaurant in the Eiffel Tower and take a stroll roughly two miles away from the Historical monument, he asks a couple to take a picture of us (though what he’s really doing is asking the couple to record on his camera). He then gets down on one knee and proposes. I was shocked, to say the least. And his reasoning behind not proposing at dinner was that he wanted to have the view of the Eiffel Tower in the backdrop. It was a magical night.

Did you feel prepared for military life when it eventually came?

I was prepared because I come from a family of many military service men and women. Both of my grandfathers were Master Chiefs. My brother was in the service, and I still have several cousins still serving. So, I was very familiar with the lifestyle when we got married.

What advice would you give to a new military spouse?

Roll with the punches and don’t fight it. I remember when we were engaged, an Air Force chaplain told me that even though I was driven, career focused, and working on an advanced degree, at some point my plans for my future might have to be put on the back burner, even if only for a little while. At the end of the day, he understood that the requirements of the military come first no matter what. Over the years, I have come to understand the depth of what he was attempting to convey. I would say, even though you bend a lot for your Active Duty service member…one day they will retire, and it will be your turn!

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Stephanie Allen is the Communications & Marketing Director for the Military Spouse Advocacy Network. She is a proud Navy wife and mom, a writer, blogger, success coach, and the Content Manager & columnist for Tidewater Family Plus magazine.