We’re getting married!

Like all good modern love stories, ours started with a swipe to the right. In early May 2018, Daniel was looking for his next career move in the beautiful city of Boston. During one of his interview trips, he had set his Hinge account to the Boston area, and low and behold, he and Emily matched. When Emily noticed a few days later that his location had updated to Traverse City, some confusion ensued, but Dan made sure to assuage any concerns and their three-week long distance courtship commenced. Dan ultimately got the job, and before their first date, we texted incessantly and spoke on the phone a few times before he moved to Boston.

Dan was staying in the local hostel while finding an apartment in Boston, and so on his second or third day in the city, they went on their first real date to Bodega Canal in the West End. In classic Emily fashion, she was fashionable late—something to this day is par for the course. She also ended up running into Morgan and Alden, her co-workers, and had to leave Dan hanging for just a few minutes longer while she said hello. Luckily, the wait was worth the while, and Dan and Emily’s chemistry was instant after weeks of texting and talking on the phone. Bonding over margaritas, the two lovebirds took the night to Bell in Hand before Dan kindly walked Emily home, leaving with nothing more than a goodnight kiss. However, the next two nights were followed up with back to back dates at Tia’s and The Landing. They knew it was something special.

Emily’s sister Liz and her then-boyfriend Steve had finally made the decision about moving in together, and Dan and Emily were ready to take the next step in their relationship. After looking far and wide, they decided that the Salem Street apartment was going to be their best bet, and what started out as a typical living situation changed 6 months later when the pandemic forced offices to close and families to quarantine at home—no matter how small the space. Dan and Emily became coworkers overnight in addition to roommates and partners, and luckily their relationship only grew stronger during the lockdowns, escaping to Martha’s Vineyard for months at a time thanks to her parents.

After months of speculation about when Dan would pop the big question, they finally embarked on a big Eurotrip to Lisbon, Portugal—something Dan had wanted to plan for years after being cooped up due to the pandemic. The trip was billed as an anniversary trip celebrating four years of dating, but Dan had laid the groundwork for a week of celebration after asking Emily’s parents for their blessing just days before their flight. On their first full day in the third-oldest city in Europe, Dan got down on one knee in front of their Juliette balcony after their cappuccinos and proposed. Emily, of course, said yes. After that, they spent the next few days making memories in Lisbon as a newly engaged couple.