We're getting married!

Back in 1996, Dave and Kendal were just two seventh graders at Harborside Middle School in Milford, CT, living completely separate lives — until the annual Nature’s Classroom field trip brought them together. For one week, they were at camp in the woods of Charlton, Massachusetts, and as fate would have it, they were placed in the same activity group. Kendal still remembers meeting Dave for the first time and looking into his deep brown eyes. It was one of those moments that stays with you for reasons you can’t quite explain. “It felt like I had known him before.” Dave, on the other hand, did not have quite the same soul-deep reaction at the time. But he did notice her — especially her athleticism and her voice when she sang in the end-of-week talent show. Through high school, they stayed friends. They had overlapping friend groups, shared memories, and the kind of familiar connection that quietly grows over time. Kendal carried a small crush through the years, while Dave remained firmly in the “good friend” lane. Around junior year, they may have started spending more time together one-on-one, but like many teenage almost-stories, it didn’t unfold the way either of them hoped. They remember parts of it differently, but the ending was the same: they drifted apart. Then, life gave them a few gentle chances to find their way back. In 2009, they ran into each other at the Bridgeport Flyer — the iconic Milford diner — and became Facebook friends. Kendal sent Dave a message. Dave did not respond. 😅 In 2012, Dave reached out after seeing photos from Kendal’s trip to Colombia. They chatted for a while, but eventually life got busy and the conversation faded again. Then came 2019, when the timing finally started to feel right. Dave reached out because he had an upcoming work trip to Seattle. Kendal had been living there since 2006, so she happily sent him recommendations — and, in true Kendal fashion, full itineraries detailed enough to keep someone busy for months. Luckily, Dave’s project ended up lasting more than a year. What started as travel tips turned into long conversations about music, concerts, adventure, the places they had been and the places they still wanted to go. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, the friendship they once had began to come back — only this time, it felt different. Stronger. Softer. More certain. It was the kind of connection that didn’t need constant proximity to grow. It carried them through COVID, moves, distance, and all the uncertainty of that season. And through it all, they kept choosing each other — again and again — until the answer became clear: this was not a coincidence. It was a love story that had simply been waiting for the right moment. By 2021, they both knew they were meant to be. Kendal officially relocated back to the East Coast in 2022, and in late 2023 they chose their wedding date: September 26, 2026. The Harvest Moon will be in the sky that night, which feels especially meaningful because “Harvest Moon” is also the song they chose for their first dance. And if you’re into numerology, their wedding date adds up to 9 — a number often connected to completion, fulfillment, unconditional love, and the closing of one chapter before beginning a new life together. After all these years, all these near-misses, and all the ways life kept gently bringing them back to each other, Dave and Kendal are so excited for what comes next — and for the rest of the journey, side by side.