When We First Met: November 17, 2018 Despite growing up just one town apart and unknowingly with many mutual friends, Rachel and Mike didn’t meet until one fateful night in 2018, when they were both invited to their friend, Elizabeth Kelly’s, birthday party. At the party, Rachel found herself looking around the dinner table and spotted Mike at the other end. The table was unfortunately long, so Rachel and Mike wouldn’t be able to exchange their first words until later that evening. Fortunately, when Elizabeth invited everyone back to her apartment, Mike and Rachel found themselves almost immediately enjoying each other’s company. Polite conversation quickly grew into a passionate, energetic conversation largely surrounding Mike’s month in Alaska back in high school and Rachel’s most recent solo trip to Thailand. As it started to get late, Mike declared that he had to leave to get some sleep, as his GMAT exam was coming up the following week. He left Rachel with a hug but failed to ask for her number...what a stiff! Our First Date: November 29, 2018 Though Mike and Rachel may have “met the old fashioned way,” the next few weeks were true to form. At 26 years old and having gone on many a disappointing date, Rachel’s ever determined nature led to her finding Mike on Facebook, where she noticed the large amount of mutual friends they had from Rachel's years at the Pike School and Mike's at Phillips Andover. Rachel messaged Mike to ask if he'd be up for a drink, and despite a minor anxiety attack while her message sat in the nether for a few days unread, Mike eventually saw the message and excitedly agreed to meet at Hopewell in Allston near where Rachel was living at the time. Rachel and Mike spent three hours talking at the bar that night, and the rest is history. From Then Until Now: After a second date at the (in)famous Olde Magoun’s Saloon--still a frequent haunt for the couple--Mike and Rachel began moving fast through the often slow dance of courtship. Rachel and Mike eagerly looked for ways to demonstrate their commitment to building their relationship by introducing each other to family, making time for each other after work, and sharing the things that bring them joy like weekend soccer and long walks through Boston Commons capped with some skating at Frog Pond. Less than 4 months later they were planning their first international trip to Vietnam. While a love for adventure drew Mike and Rachel to each other, it really is the feeling of love, home, comfort, and family that keep Rachel and Mike together. When We Got Engaged: September 1, 2022 Mike attempted to plan a sneaky engagement party with Mike and Rachel’s immediate family the week of her birthday. That week, Mike, not usually a planner, had asked Rachel at least three times if she was free on Thursday night to go to Mike’s parent's house. Later that week, Mike changed the plan, saying they would go to “a fancy dinner at a new wine bar” in North Reading. A fancy dinner? A wine bar? In North Reading? Rachel had so many questions. When Rachel got home from work on Thursday night, Rachel asked what she should wear and Mike, changing the plan for a third time, said, “oh, whatever you want! We’re not going to the wine bar anymore, we’re going to my parent’s house”. Wear whatever she wants? She was so confused. While Rachel had her suspicions that a proposal might be imminent, a phone call with her mom, Linda, threw her off the trail as Linda was far too calm for anything so big to be happening. When Mike and Rachel arrived at the DiFronzo’s home in North Reading, there were balloons, catered appetizers, glasses of champagne, and a row of DiFronzos and Sterns standing in a line with their cameras out. When Rachel turned around, Mike was down on one knee asking her to marry him. Rachel couldn’t say yes fast enough. This proposal has brought us to today, and we could not be more excited to celebrate with all of the people that we love!