When Andréa moved from Lincoln, RI and Michael moved from the Berkshires to Boston, they were both focused on their careers as environmental activists. Having not yet met, they flew to Denver for a national training with over 100 other non-profit professionals to prepare to launch environmental campaign offices. Andréa first caught Michael’s attention from across the large hotel training room and they soon found out they would be working in the same region, but running different, rival campaign offices. During late night gatherings in Colorado they found their shared interest in music. Andréa was impressed by Michael's beatboxing skills in an impromptu late night balcony jam session and Andréa surprised him with her own soul-filled vocal freestyle. That summer, Andréa and Michael found time outside of running their campaigns to build their friendship. While they continued to connect over their passion for all things music and activism, they found many other common interests like comedy, philosophy, cooking, nature, fantasy worlds and literature. Some of their first rendezvous were when Michael invited Andréa over to watch Game of Thrones. In fact, just as Andréa started to wonder if Michael was ever going to make a move, he called and invited her over to help him make lemon cakes before the new episode aired. It was the same night she demanded he finally kiss her. After months of sneaking around their co-workers, they made their relationship official on New Years’ Day and since then have shared many magical adventures: Moving in together, attending a music festival on a ski mountain, going on a road trip to Montreal and Quebec, surviving a global pandemic in close quarters with two other roommates, and taking a long awaited trip to Costa Rica, just to name a few. On September 8th 2021, at dusk, Michael proposed to Andréa at her favorite childhood beach in Little Compton, RI. He had planned to propose earlier that day but Andréa had skipped breakfast and really wanted to go back to the house for a sandwich. The important thing is she said yes! We are so excited to invite you to our wedding at the enchanting Montague Retreat Center. The location is special for Michael and Andréa since it was once a hub of environmental activism and continues to be deeply connected to the environment and community (and is very close to Michael's alma mater, UMass Amherst). We’re sure you’ll feel the magic that we felt when we first visited and can't wait to see you all! Please book your travel and lodging soon, it’s a busy weekend in Western Mass. We’ll see you on October 14th, 2023!