Due to COVID-19, our wedding this year has been cancelled!

Joey and I met back in 2012 when we both started working for the same company. We went to the same high school but didn't really know each other (even though he friend requested me back in 2010!) Our friendship really began to grow over the years through our common interests such as the outdoors, our love of food and beer, and of course- the Red Sox! I always saw Joey as my cute and funny friend who I could always confide in or go to for advice. We drifted in the middle years when I went off to the University of New Haven and he got promoted and moved to a new store. In the summer of 2015, I was offered to transfer departments at work to the food service department. I was hesitant, but somehow I felt like it was meant to happen for some reason. That same summer Joey was moved back to Groton as an assistant on the Front End. Some of the girls in my department wondered who the "cute new guy" on the front end was, and I was so happy to reconnect with one of my favorite people. When the ball dropped ringing in 2016, I had no idea that it would be the year that changed everything for me. I was single, working 2 jobs, and going to college full time. By March I was snapchatting Joey on the regular and my roommates referred to him as "the cute guy from work." I would smile and nod. Joey was my close friend, and thats all he was to me- right?

In mid-May 2016 I had finally finished up my Junior year of college. When I got home Joey took me out for my 21st Birthday drinks that he owed me. It was the first time we ever hung out outside of work. We only had roughly 10 days to hang out before I headed off to Oklahoma for the summer. I'm pretty sure we managed to hang out 5 or 6 times around work, which is pretty insane. The night before I flew out, we went to Dairy Queen and walked Bluff Point, talking about life and everything under the sun. When we got back to our cars parked in Dairy Queen, we talked for another 3 hours! I think it was safe to say by then my look on Joey became so much more, he was definitely NOT just my friend, but how was I going to find out if I left all summer??? The second I stepped foot in Oklahoma at the end of May my anxiety sky-rocketed. I was starting an internship at a place I didn't know, with people I didn't know 1500 miles away from home. My dad had just moved to Oklahoma and worked pretty crazy hours, which meant I would be left alone for most of the time. Joey was also going through a very difficult time dealing with a very close loss. In that moment we really leaned on each other, and it made us both get through our times. It made me feel special knowing that from miles and miles away, he wanted to talk to me for comfort. A few weeks later I asked him what it was about me that made him like talking to me so much. He told me I gave him hope, that he's never met anyone like me and he couldn't wait until I got home so we could "see where this goes." I'm not used to feeling so strongly about someone that also felt the same way back! Especially someone as smart, sweet, and amazing as this kid! The 8 weeks I was gone brought us together in ways that I will always be grateful for. . The rest of the summer made me realize that the Joey I knew from work was so much more than thought. At the end of the summer he officially asked me to be his girlfriend, and the rest was history.

To this day I couldn’t tell you exactly what I said as I got down on one knee. You could rehearse it a million times and even write out your speech on your phone but when the time comes for you to ask the women of your dreams to spend the rest of your life with, you just speak from the heart. We arrived at Olde Mystic Village as it just stopped raining. The Christmas lights were reflecting off the puddles as if the lights on the trees, buildings and fences weren’t good enough. Walking up to the gazebo, my stomach was in my throat. I was nervous, but why? Maybe because I was going to lay everything down on the table, completely vulnerable in front of family and friends. But she didn’t know that. Lets back track…

I was waiting for Drey, Chey’s youngest sister, in the Panera parking lot; I couldn’t help but think about Chey’s family. The year I spent living with Chey and her family in Groton was a year I wouldn’t forget. They brought me in as one of their own, mainly because Bill and I were both Red Sox fans and we could watch the games together and Allison and I could work on her garden together but no, I think they saw something in me that I didn’t even know yet. Chey has taken me to see her family in Oklahoma, Kansas, Florida and Colorado. During each visit, I couldn’t help but fall in love with her even more because I was falling in love with her family. I remember her dad on our first visit to OK, he answered his phone, talking to someone from work I assume, as, “I took some time off because my daughter from CT is here with my son-in-law.” I have never felt so welcomed before. Asking both parents for their blessings was exciting because as much as I love Chey and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her, I also love her family and want to spend the rest of my life with them too. Asking for Drey’s blessing first was a no brainer. Drey and I formed a great bond over the years. I taught her how to fish and grab a stripe bass by the mouth. I look at her like a younger sister and want nothing but the best for her. I also needed her to help in picking out rings and making sure Chey’s nails were done before the big day. I think we both did a great job in picking out Chey’s ring. So why was I nervous?

The gazebo was decorated from top to bottom with Christmas lights, garland, and poinsettias. The night sky made the lights pop out as if we were walking through the set of a cheesy hallmark movie as we normally would watch. Drey and our friends Veronica and Alec were walking with us to admire the lights one last time before Christmas. Little did Chey know that her whole family and mine were hiding in the shops around the gazebo waiting for us to go in. We both stepped into the gazebo. I grabbed both of her hands and spoke from the heart. All I remember is the nervousness instantly vanished; it was just her and me, as it will be for the rest of out lives.

We would like to thank our parents for all that they do for us. And a BIG shoutout to the Diehl Family, all of this would not be possible without your love and generosity <3