Our story began on an impromptu car ride Rachel took home from college at Johnson & Wales University to NJ one weekend in October 2015. We had a mutual friend, AJ, who grew up with us in Millburn. Unbeknownst to both of us, AJ would hitch rides with us separately back to Millburn during school breaks. Rachel mentioned to AJ that she had just received an incredible opportunity to head down to Palm Beach, FL to take a 3 month internship at HMF restaurant at The Breakers, Palm Beach. AJ congratulated her and mentioned that a guy by the name of “Marc Buck”, who also grew up in Millburn, went to Millburn High School, and graduated from Johnson & Wales University in 2015, was working at the same resort. AJ offered to text Rachel’s number to Marc and share with him that she was heading down in late February 2016. And maybe he would help show her around once she landed?

A couple days later, Rachel received a text from a NJ number: “Hey I heard you’re moving down to Florida to do an internship here at the Breakers; when are you planning on heading down?” Rachel was delighted to have him reach out since she was getting very jittery about having to move to Florida by herself. She replied and they chatted. He assured her that when she moved down, it would be his pleasure to show her around, introduce her to some of his friends, and help her find an apartment.

Fast forward to February 2016. Rachel’s mom offered to drive her car from NJ to Palm Beach --- packed to the brim, so that she could get down to Florida ahead of schedule (shout out to mom!). This would give them enough time to visit with grandparents and cousins who were visiting southern Florida, as well as visit The Breakers to meet her chef and start training. A day before Rachel started her first day at HMF, she wanted to give her grandparents (Charlotte and Gerald Miller), Uncle Michael, Aunt Jodi, Aunt Liz, and cousin Mia a tour of the beautiful grounds and property. (If you haven’t visited The Breakers, it’s a MUST SEE!). They all piled into their SUV and drove up towards the entrance. Unbeknownst to Rachel, as they pulled up, a VERY handsome gentleman poked his head out to greet the car, as Rachel realized who it was and jumped from the back seat to say:

“Hey Marc, I’m Rachel, the one you’ve been talking to, from Millburn and JWU...AJ’s friend! This is my family! We’re coming to visit and I would love to show them the property!” Marc replied: “Hey family! Of course, head right in and park on the right in the self-park area!”

In that moment, Rachel saw how genuine, outgoing, and friendly Marc was. It was her immediate feeling that she definitely wanted to see him again. The next day, they texted and made plans to go out for Kabuki Sushi, a local place on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm.

The day of, he was a total gentleman and asked if he wanted her to drive or for him to drive. Of course, Rachel ended up picking him up. (If you know Marc, you know he totally prefers not to drive no matter what the situation is, haha). However, that didn’t make or break anything. They dined over delicious sushi having SO much to talk about, but also because if you know Marc, you know when he’s nervous, he talks, and talks, and talks, AND talks! But he never talked about himself in a selfish kind of way that some guys are like on a first date; he just had so much to share because of their similar paths through life thus far. Rachel enjoyed every moment of dinner. She remembered driving back towards his apartment saying “wanna just drive around for a bit?” because she didn’t want him to go, but wasn’t ready for him to potentially invite her back to his place (which of course he didn’t --- Marc was (and still is) a total gentleman!).

Fast forward 3 months later, Rachel’s internship was coming to an end, every day spent on cloud nine. HMF allowed her to extend the internship into a full-time position, and stay through the Summer! That Spring and Summer were filled with so much understanding, communication, and love - a love they had never experienced. It was during that time that they realized they had crossed the same paths, walked through the same halls in nursery school, high school, Hebrew school, college, and now their first jobs at a beautiful resort in Florida.

The rest is history!

They welcomed each other into their friend groups, families and lives well before they were engaged. But on December 31, 2019, the last day of what Rachel likes to say has been their BEST year yet, Marc got down on one knee in a beautifully lit gazebo at Taylor Park, in downtown Millburn. He topped the best year yet, and asked Rachel to spend the rest of her life with him! The last four years together, they have grown so much in the best possible ways and are SOOOO very excited to start this new chapter together!

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