Desireé and Stephen met in 2006 at The Prout School, a high school in Wakefield, RI. At the time, they shared English and Spanish classes and quickly became friends. Fun fact: in Spanish class, Desireé's desk was placed in an awkward position that forced her to constantly be looking in Stephen's direction during class. Her friends at the time would affectionately tease her for always staring in his direction and so Desireé first introduced herself to Stephen to decrease the awkwardness and to appease her friends. Though Desireé ultimately decided that The Prout School was not for her and returned to her public high school after freshman year, Stephen and Desireé stayed in touch and during junior year, the two began dating after a friend stole Desireé's phone and texted Stephen that she liked him without her knowledge. Desireé had no clue what was going on until he texted a few days later that he wanted to go on a date with her. Fast forward a few weeks and Stephen would become Desireé's first boyfriend. However, as most first relationships go, Desireé and Stephen would not last and at the time Stephen's mother told Desireé she was "the right girl at the wrong time." Who knew she'd actually be right?! In 2011, Stephen and Desireé reconnected and fell in love all over again in our beautiful home state of Rhode Island. After college, Desireé was accepted into a clinical psychology doctoral program at West Virginia University and Stephen was not going to let her leave without him. The couple moved to Morgantown, WV to start their adult lives together and the rest of the story is history. At the time of their wedding, Desireé and Stephen will have spent over a decade together filled with memories of meeting new, amazing people; learning life lessons and taking on new challenges, and exploring this beautiful, crazy world. Desireé and Stephen are so excited to start this new chapter and share their special day with each of you!

Stephen originally intended to propose to Desireé at Disney World; however, Desireé unknowingly got in the way of his original plans and then COVID-19 further delayed the possibility of this trip. Since Stephen had been holding onto the ring (in the couple's apartment by the way!) since November 2019, he decided an ideal second choice would be in the couple's new home together in Cincinnati, OH. So, on March 15, 2020, Stephen proposed on the gorgeous John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, featured in the couple's engagement photos. We're so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you. See you in Newport!