In 2002, Kelly's family took a trip to Turks & Caicos, Bahamas to celebrate Cindy + Don's 15th Wedding Anniversary. On the trip, Kelly and her sister Kristina took FULL advantage of the swim-up bars. It was at one of these bars where Kelly swam up to inquire about a virgin strawberry daiquiri and she encountered a boy her age... *not cody*. His name was Alec and they continued on to become great friends throughout the course of their vacation. Following the trip Kelly + Alec became pen pals until they eventually grew older and lost contact. Years later, as a high-schooler, Kelly stumbled across the snail mail from her old pen pal. With social media taking off, Kelly and Alec reconnected on Facebook and talked throughout their remaining years of high school. At the conclusion of senior year, Kelly and Alec were discussing where they would be attending college in the upcoming year. Kelly mentioned she was interested in Architecture and that Roger Williams was top of her list as a potential school. Alec quickly messaged her back saying, "Oh that's great! One of my best friends goes to Roger Williams... for architecture actually! He is one year older than us - I'll have him reach out to you!" The next day, Cody sent Kelly a friend request.

Kelly and Cody had been talking about moving in together for a while. After months of discussing options and the timing of everything, a decision had been finally made and a lease had been executed - they were moving into the heart of Boston, a bustling, active city. Well, so they thought they were. Within just 3 months of living in their new home together, COVID-19 threw a wrench in their plans. The city was no longer bustling / active, and things were shutting down left-and-right. Kelly + Cody quickly were realizing all they had was a tiny 600sf apartment and each-other's company for the foreseeable future. While navigating the anxiety, fear and uncertainty together, Kelly + Cody realized they were thriving by each others side, becoming even closer than they were when they moved in together. After exactly one year in quarantine together, the couple visited Cody's family home on Martha's Vineyard for a weekend getaway. Saturday morning Kelly + Cody walked down to the house's dock, as they often do, to look at the water and get some fresh air. After doing a couple hand-stands and some great animal-watching, Kelly walked to the end of the dock to join her (very anxious) boyfriend. Cody handed her a pair of binoculars and told her to look across the lagoon. When she did, looking in the distance, she saw people she hadn't seen in a while: Her mom, sister, and Cody's parents, on a stranger's dock and holding up gigantic signs: "SAY YES KELLY! YAY!" Kelly spun around to find Cody on his knee, looking up at her with a smile, and asking her the words. The two enjoyed a few minutes alone in the salt-water air, and then walked up the hill to join their families, teary-eyed and happily engaged to their best friend. We're so excited to celebrate this next chapter of our lives with you. See you in Rhode Island!