As a National Guard recruiter for Bucks County, Nick Brinckman is used to enlisting recruits with heartfelt persuasion and, of course, simple facts. But it obviously didn’t take any persuading at all to convince Lauren Steele to agree to marry him. And the simple fact was that he loved Lauren and knew she felt the same about him.

Nick, a self-titled “military brat” who attended Council Rock High School with Lauren, moved to Florida junior year and graduated from Mariner High School in Cape Coral, Florida before joining the army. Lauren graduated from Council Rock and went off to college. Fifteen years went by.

Fast forward to 2016. Two divorces and five children later (three for him, two for her) the two met up again in Bucks County thanks to mutual friends. This was something special. Nick knew he wanted to marry Lauren, but also recognized that blending two established families could be challenging. He sought approval individually from all five children. “They all thought that asking Lauren to marry me was a great idea,” Nick recalls. Nick also spoke to Lauren’s mother, sister and even visited Lauren’s deceased father’s gravesite to express his intentions.

The Ring

Nick took Lauren into David Craig Jewelers to have her finger sized for what she assumed might be a holiday gift.

“I wanted a local jeweler, someone who had a great reputation and loads of experience,” said Nick. “David was really friendly, as were his staff.”

Nick returned to the store weeks later and, with David’s help, picked out a beautiful one-carat round diamond. The stone would sit in a cushioned cut bezel setting in 14K white gold, all designed by David.

“David is just an extremely nice guy and was willing to answer any of my questions and offer advice without being forceful,” said Nick.

Nick thought Christmas vacation holiday 2017 would be a great time to propose when he, Lauren and their children would be together at Camelback mountain. On December 29th, under the stars, with the warmth of a fire to help illuminate the sparkle in Lauren’s eyes (and the beautiful diamond he pulled from a gift box!), Nick asked Lauren to be his wife. Lauren, a NICU nurse at Abington, enthusiastically said yes, or to be exact, “Yes, a thousand times yes!”

A wedding date has not been set. We send our best wishes to this great couple and their children.