Like almost all modern romances, they matched on a dating website. Ellie slid into Celeste's DMs by asking what her New Year's resolution was. Celeste, luckily not scared off by such a cringey opener, said she wanted to travel. They agreed to get drinks the following week!

The couple's first date was at Novel, a book themed bar in Portland. They sat in the back on one of the couches amidst stacks of books. Clearly, they were both really nervous, but the espresso martinis helped get the conversation going.

On their fifth date, they watched Candyman (2021) and Rent (2005) and ordered pizza. Celeste was the brave one and asked Ellie to be her girlfriend (Ellie was thinking the same thing and was just too scared to ask).

Ellie proposed to Celeste in an old, dusty bookstore in Freeport staffed by two fat cats named Bonnie and Clyde. With the help of her mom, the ring was hidden in a book on one of the shelves for Celeste to find. The book was light blue, Celeste's favorite color, and was titled 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die. Ellie had hoped that the color and title would draw Celeste's attention, but she ended up nervously pointing it out with trembling hands and telling her to flip through it. She found the ring eventually, though! Ellie got down on one knee, and Celeste said yes!

Then it was Celeste's turn to propose. She brought Ellie to a nice dinner at Tuscan Bistro in Freeport on a warm spring day, and then drove to Bailey's Island (not our dog's island) to see the sunset. Despite already being engaged, Celeste was incredibly nervous. She led Ellie to the cliffside over the ocean, watching the birds and admiring the sky. Then Celeste got down on one knee and returned the question to Ellie; of course, the answer was yes, again!