Learn more about our proposal story HERE.
Every year, without fail, I think about how long Paul and I have been together and can’t believe it. They say the years fly by and you don’t understand until you’re in your twenties. With our 10 year… TEN YEARS! anniversary coming up and our engagement, 2020 has been a record year for reflection on how far we’ve come.
It was a beautiful summer day in July 2010 when some random kid poked me on Facebook. If you were on Facebook in 2010 then you’ll remember poking was the thing… at least at Melrose High School, ha! At the time I had no idea who Paul was, had never seen him before, and I was intrigued. Going into my Freshman year, how could I not be? Teenage girls are always flattered when an upperclassman shows them some attention.
After a few weeks of this poking back and forth we finally decided to start chatting. Paul was in Gloucester with his family for vacation so I knew I wouldn’t get to meet him until he came home. In my very curious nature, I must have asked him hundreds of questions during that time. He still makes jokes about it to this day… and I’m honestly still the same. Paul on the other hand was pretty shy and not super talkative. I can definitely say he is not that way now. In fact, Paul is way more of a social butterfly than me.
We planned to meet when he returned home and it was all I could think about, talk about, and plan for. It must have felt like forever when it was really only a few days… ah teenage years are the best! It was the highlight to my summer when I finally walked down the street to meet him at a local park and, as it turned out, we lived minutes (no exaggeration) from one another.
In typical high school fashion we both claimed we wanted nothing serious. We talked and hung out and went on a few dates and just enjoyed each others company. We just felt like a good fit and our relationship naturally blossomed into more than the ‘nothing serious’ we had planned for. High School came with many challenges of which I won’t get into (typical high school bullshit) but we made it through stronger than most would have expected. Having met so young, I honestly don’t think anyone believed we would make it this far.
When Paul went off to college I was still a junior in high school and was so nervous about our future together. You hear about ‘turkey drops’ and other awful situations that tear relationships apart but we managed. After all of our years in college and now professionally, we’ve grown closer. We love each others families, have had many incredible experiences together, and can look back on our youthful beginnings and laugh about it all; especially as we’ve realized how unimportant those petty high school and college fights really were.
No relationship is perfect and never will be. You have to embrace the ups and downs and go in with your true self. There was always something about Paul that felt right. The movies make it feel so cliche but it’s true that when you meet your person it’s a feeling that you can’t describe. And I’m happy we met so young because we’ve really grown together.
Growing up in our small hometown outside of Boston meant everyone knew our business. My family grew up and planted their roots and ours there. And, fun fact, my parents met in the same town at the same age! Let’s just say I think a lot of people were cheering for us when the news that we were engaged got out. It has been a whirlwind of excitement!
Thanks to our incredible photographer Ashley of Sea You Smile Photography for the best engagement photos. Though Paul hates taking photos with a passion, she really knew how to make us both feel comfortable behind the camera. I’ve loved working with her and can’t wait to see the photos from our WEDDING.