I love surprises, and Dave... well he likes to know what he is getting for Christmas in November. Of course, I love that enthusiasm. However, it can be hard to remember that when he FaceTimes me from a shoe store to ask, through a toothy grin, if I would like guess what he just bought me for Christmas. I say all of this to emphasis that it would be an understatement to say I was surprised at his proposal. I was stunned. Static, in a dream-state, as my mom (having just entered Longwood Gardens) unfolded a map I could’ve sworn an employee had just handed to her. As she unfolded it I could see photos glued around the edges. Photos of Dave and I, throughout our relationship, smiling at me like friendly strangers my mind couldn’t recognize. Through some fancy finger-work, my mom had swapped a map she’d just collected at the door with one Dave had given her the day prior. At the center of the paper, he had made a handwritten trail in red ink that ended with a heart. Speechless, I had to sit down. My mother, unraveling in her excitement, started saying things like “he came to ask us two weeks ago.” Holding back tears, we found Dave on a private wood-chip lined pathway. Behind him, half hidden between shrubs and trees, were our families. His parents, brothers and grandmother, as well as my father and brother who I could've sworn I'd just left at home. In Dave's hand was a ring case shaped like a macaroon with my name written across the top. In his back pocket, was a pink envelope filled with ticket stubs from past dates we'd shared. He, literally, took my breath away. Now, I look back at that day in awe of how generous he was to share that moment with our families. As much as that day was about us, and our love, it was also about them. Our families coming together in the moment we agreed to start our own family. I love this man with all my heart.

Our reception banquet hall was built from the bones of 1800’s dairy barn. It is soaked in natural light by floor-to-ceiling French windows and is named for its lofty, gabled ceiling. Exposed wooden beams at the center of the hall are reminiscent of the stalls that housed the building’s former occupants. Across from the barn is the wedding terrace where we'll say "I do." Our Save the Date cards, illustrated by Heather Craft, provide a sneak peak of this beautiful ceremony location.