Kelsey & Nicholaus
We’re Getting Married!
KelseyBonham
&NicholausBailey
March222025
Bristol, RI
Our Story
How We Met
In January 2021, I (Kelsey) set sail on Little Wing — my restored 1974 ice-breaking sailboat — from Annapolis, Maryland with Sage, a long-time friend of mine. The goal was warmer weather and good vibes, maybe even a semester abroad if the pandemic hadn’t shaken things up. A few days in and after some exciting weather, I ended up in Norfolk, Virginia where Nic happened to be living, stationed there with the Navy. We crossed paths and somehow he convinced me to share a bottle of wine aboard Little Wing and talk about life and all of our plans, despite frozen docks and minimal heating aboard. After this we both knew that we saw something in each other, although we didn't say so at the time. Nic showed it by following me down the East Coast and meeting me at every port he had the chance to visit.
I (Nic), for whatever reason, decided to follow the crazy boat girl down the East Coast until she reached her southernmost stop in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. At this point things were uncertain. Will she cross to the Bahamas? Will she go to the Keys? Or can I convince her to come spend a summer in Norfolk, Virginia of all places? Somehow, she — a girl I had met just 3 months prior — thought it was a good idea to move in for the summer (military relationships, am I right?)
Shortly after moving in together, we set forth on a life of adventure: skydiving, kickboxing, hiking, surfing, off-season camping, and late-night bonfires, just to name a few. We've now sailed almost the entire eastern seaboard, jumped out of planes 43 times, and had many late nights planning our next adventure.
We hope you can help us in celebrating the next chapter and will come along with us for the start of the ride of lifetime.
The Proposal
A few months before a Navy-ordered move from Virginia to Massachusetts, Nic — being the sentimentalist that he is — insisted that we spend an evening walking around the Norfolk waterfront, to say goodbye to the place we met and had called home for the past several years. After reaching the end of the pier, he pointed out a boat doing something foolish — which he knew would distract Kelsey — so that he could take out the ring and pop the question. He took extra care to find a ring rugged enough to survive all our (mis)adventures!