The official beginning of their love story started back at Athol High School in 2012. Lauren stopped in to visit her mother, Ann, at work. Dakota was in the office (most likely late for school). Upon Dakota's departure, Lauren said, "He's cute, who is he?!". Ann responded, "Oh that's Dakota Melanson!". The next time Ann saw Dakota she jokingly told him what Lauren had said, and so began a long standing joke of always saying "Hi" to each other through her mom. They remained in touch throughout the years, mostly running into each other at local softball tournaments. In November of 2016, they bumped (more like stumbled) into one another at a local bar, and I guess you could say the rest is history! One of Dakota and Lauren's favorite things to do together is visit local breweries, so it would make sense that Dakota popped the question before a weekend away in Burlington, Vermont. Lauren was frantically packing last minute items, trying to rush Dakota along so they could hit the road. Dakota hollered from the other room, "Hey babe, you ready to celebrate this weekend?!". Confused, Lauren responds "Celebrate what?". As she turned around, there he was down on one knee.