From the woods to the water welcome to our Maine celebration

Clair and Austin first met during the summer of 2016, when Clair decided it was time to swap her zip-off hiking pants for something a little more business casual. She packed her bags, lowered her expectations, and headed to St. Louis, also known (to literally no one but Clair and Austin) as the "Dirty Lou," for a summer internship. Clair knew exactly one person in the Dirty Lou, but that didn’t stop her from immediately becoming the self-appointed social chair of the intern class. On day one of onboarding, she created a GroupMe, told everyone they would be going out that night, and the rest was a potential HR nightmare turned love story. Austin’s version of events? He remembers meeting Clair during a break that week, in which he instantly fell for her. She was outgoing, fun, beautiful, and down-right cool, but it was when Clair announced she was leaving the bar early to eat pad thai that Austin's jaw hit the floor. That’s when he knew with all of his heart, this was a woman of refined taste and strong convictions. By week two, Clair realized her apartment (shared with mystery roommates and no air conditioning during a 100-degree heat wave) was not going to cut it. Austin, ever the sweaty gentleman, offered to help her move. When the new place turned out to also be AC-challenged, he casually suggested she stay at his place, which did have air conditioning. It was at this point, Austin (unknown to him) was dangerously walking the friendzone tightline. His stroke of luck continued when he found out Clair was also avidly tuning into each episode of Game of Thrones but wasn't a done deal until a really awkward episode of the bachelorette spurred his courage. Thank you, Wells and your inability to kiss the bachelorette, you single-handedly kept Austin out of the friendzone. And just like that, the hottest summer of their lives turned into the coolest beginning.