We're getting married!

Having always wanted to work a summer in Newport, RI, Jocelyn took a position at 41 North. Brian was the Pastry Chef and made the first move on her first day. As the story is told; he said, "Cute bum." She said, "You're not my type." Turns out she was wrong! ~ They were both ending relationships when they met, throwing themselves into their work and just trying to get by. If you've ever worked in a restaurant you know that it's no hold barred. You learn a lot about people, really quickly - their humor, character, work ethic and pet peeves. They realized early on that they had similar working styles and found working together incredibly easy. Over time they learned how to make each other laugh and found trust and comfort within all the kitchen banter. They could lean on each other professionally and trusted each other personally. It was a slow friendship but it was true, honest and had a natural spark; exactly what two unfulfilled hearts needed. Neither wanted to admit they liked the other, so they carried on as friends. Summer turned to fall, and fall into winter, and a whole new whirlwind of feelings came. You see, Brian was leaving for a six month backpacking trip to Southeast Asia with his sister. It had been planned since before he met Jocelyn. This was a big reason their relationship stayed as 'just friends.' But now here they were, weeks away from Brian's departure and forced to make a decision. There was too much goodness, trust and care to not give it a shot and see if that spark could light a fire. They found out very quickly that distance does make the heart grow fonder. The first few weeks went by quickly, then they dragged. But before they knew it, a couple months had passed and they were on the back half of the trip. One day Brian called her and said, "I'll be home for the Fourth!" His six month trip turned into four and a half. He flew back to the States, and they moved in together.

It was a snow dusted Wednesday morning and the couple had a day off together. The day was expected to warm up so they made a plan to spend it in Newport - get lunch at Pour Judgement, take a stroll through town and catch the sunset at Sachuest Point. After a lovely day in town they bundled up for a walk in the nature preserve for the perfect sunset spot. Being the adventurer that she is, Jocelyn found a small trail off the beaten path that lead to the water. They made their way down the icy rocks to set up the camera for some wintery sunset pictures. Unbeknownst to Jocelyn, this was all a rouse to capture the proposal. While Brian was setting up, Jocelyn was wandering around collecting shells and skipping rocks. She had wandered so far off that she barely heard Brian say, “Babe, turn around!” In true Jocelyn fashion, she didn’t bother turning around but responded back, “No, you come here, I’m collecting shells!” Brian, fearing he was about to lose the picturesque sunset moment said, “Just turn around already. PLEASE!” And when she did, he was down on bended knee with the sun setting perfectly behind him. She ran back to him, as quickly as she could all while shouting, “Are you F’ing kidding me?!” There was a bird watcher in a tree that happened to see the whole ordeal. He started laughing and cheering, and shouting “SAY YES! SAY YES!” When she finally made her way back to Brian (yes, he was still on bended knee) she said “okay, start over.” In that moment the couple went from living in sin as boyfriend and girlfriend, to living in less sin as a newly engaged couple. She said yes, they each shed a happy tear and kissed in the snow with the orange glow of a winter sunset wrapped around them. The bird watcher offered to snap a few pictures of the newly engaged couple and congratulated them, again. They called their parents, siblings and closest friends to share the news then began planning for their big day!