We met on Bumble, an online dating app, one warm August weekend in 2017. I was in Newport, RI, with some girlfriends, and Kelsey was in nearby Providence. After chatting back and forth for a few days, Kelsey came up to Boston, where I was living at the time, to take me on one of our first "super" dates. Drinks turned into dinner, which turned into an evening stroll through the Seaport, which turned into more drinks and eventually a race to catch the last train back to Providence for the night. Several weeks and more super dates later, I was indefinitely head over heels.

Emily was in Newport and per her, swiping on Bumble out of boredom in the car ride down. Fortunately, she stumbled upon my profile where she was intrigued by a picture of me eating a lobster roll but hesitant because I "looked short". I made a trip to Boston for our first date shortly thereafter, where I was immediately blown away by her positivity and sense of humor. Five hours later, I narrowly avoided missing the last train back to Providence. Five-hour dates became entire days and weekends, and missed trains became a recurring theme of our early time spent together.

I had the ring picked out back in November 2019 but I wanted to plan something really special for Emily (the ultimate planner). I decided on a proposal in Portland, Maine followed by a surprise party with our closest friends and family flying in from all over the country. Given the long Maine winters (and our photographer/friend Courtney’s maternity leave!) I scheduled the proposal for the first weekend in April. At that time my biggest concerns were getting our family and friends to keep a secret for that long (great job Sav, Jake, Mom) and if I would be able to get Emily to leave the office in time for the proposal on Friday. Fast-forward to April and we were in the midst of a global pandemic, the entire country was socially distancing and Emily had not been to her office in weeks. Fortunately, this gave me an excuse for an “impromptu” retreat to her dad’s house in Rockland, Maine, where we had spent our first weekend away together. Courtney was still able to photograph the proposal (although the hugs were put on hold) and we surprised Emily with a virtual Zoom party.