Joel & Kat
Our Love Story
How We Met
A very UConn meet cute
Kat: How would I describe the setting for Joel's and my first meeting? Have you seen Animal House? I’m kidding (mostly) but when our eyes met across the Second House living room, Rihanna’s “I Found Love in a Hopeless Place” was surely playing in the background. Joel’s fraternity brother, future roommate and Groomsmen Jon Cherico, with whom I was playing a round of beer pong at the time, gamely offered to let Joel take over our game. I still don’t remember if we won or not, but it’s safe to say our love story was the biggest victory of the evening! Joel: I clearly remember meeting Kat's eyes from across that dingy living room. After several exchanged glances, smiles, and awkward laughs I was able to convince my good friend and groomsman Jon to retire himself from the important match at hand. He will always be the best wingman in my book. They always said you couldn’t find love in the basement of that house. We met upstairs.
The Proposal
South Cape Beach, July 17, 2021
Joel: I always knew that I wanted to propose to Kat on Cape Cod. We’ve spent a lot of time and celebrated many milestones together in Mashpee, and I knew that this place would be an integral part of our lives for many years to come. What I didn’t anticipate was the extreme heat of that July day on South Cape Beach. I sat on the beach with Kat nervously waiting for my brother and sister-in-law Rosie to get into position to take photos. At last, I saw their heads poke out from the dunes in the distance! Kat and I walked out to the point of the beach and I got down on one knee and asked Kat to marry me. Spoiler: she said yes! Kat: If you’re reading this, it probably won’t come as a shock to you that my “surprise” proposal came with a detailed timeline of where, when and how I would like things to happen. And as 2022 steadily progressed, I started dropping subtle (and not so subtle) hints to Joel that the project was running behind schedule. Then (finally!), on a balmy July day, despite all of my planning efforts and Type A tendencies, Joel pulled off a proposal filled with many sweet surprises. The weekend included secret photography by Joel's talented sister-in-law Rosie, a post-engagement gathering with our parents and a weekend at a Falmouth B&B with the cutest Newfoundland stationed at the front desk. It was perfect!