Rachel & Adam first met when they were 11 years old, when Rachel transferred to Adam's elementary school, Franklin Music Magnet. The following year, they were placed in the same 6th grade class and Rachel remembers her classmates teasing her about a valentine that Adam gave her that was SUPER lovey dovey, but Adam claims that he was in love with soccer at the time, not Rachel. (Mmm hmm...) Flash forward 25 years later to a retirement party on April 6, 2018 for Steve Petrie, Rachel's dad, who also happened to be a coworker of Adam's at the United States Postal Service. Rachel and Steve were sitting at a table, visiting, minding their own business, when all of a sudden this tall, dark, & handsome 36 year old letter carrier approached their table, looked at Rachel, and said, "I think we went to the same elementary school together..." Sure enough, they did. And sure enough, they both fell big time for each other that night.

When Rachel and Adam started throwing around the idea of getting married, Adam kept talking about how he would propose to Rachel… Then one day Rachel said, "Wait, wait, wait... Who says you are going to propose to ME? What if I propose to YOU??" Then Adam said, "Oh! I really like that idea! Okay, I’ll let you do that, then." Rachel: Challenge accepted!! While Rachel didn't know exactly when she would pop the question, she was pretty darn sure that Adam was the person for her, so she went ahead and had two engagement bands made, one for her and one for Adam, because why should he have all the fun?! Once the rings were ready, Rachel carried them around with her in her backpack for a little while before ultimately deciding to bring them with on a trip to Maine that she and Adam were planning. She had heard that Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park is the easternmost location in the United States, so she had planned on proposing to Adam on top of Cadillac Mountain at sunrise. However, while Rachel and Adam were there, all of the mornings were overcast. Boo, weather! So, she did it at sunset instead. And before she could even finish asking Adam if he would be her Adventure Partner Husband, Adam interrupted her with a, "Yes yes yes yes yes!!!". [See adorable, bursting with happiness photo below - taken at Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, October 9, 2018.]