Liz and I met back on July 1, 2013. It was my first job out of college (Go Friars!) and Liz had already been working there for a few weeks. The first time I met her she was wearing a light blue skirt and was drinking a red bull. She's a beautiful girl and we quickly found out that we had a lot in common, with us both being from New England and only just a few weeks apart in age. At first, we hung out in the same circles after work but then we gradually started spending more time together. As the weeks went by we started getting closer and closer, and after a few failed attempts to court her I was finally able to get her to go on a date with me, and the rest, as they say, is history!

^^^ What he said ;) No, but seriously, I do remember meeting DJ on his first day at work and feeling pretty...overwhelmed! If you know me, you know I tend to live my life on the quieter side - and if you know DJ....well, then you know that we are pretty opposite in that regard, but I wouldn't change it for anything. What DJ said is true too, he did make a few failed attempts because I (stupidly) thought I would be living out my Carrie Bradshaw fairy tale as a single girl living in Boston and a boyfriend just didn't fit into that. Lucky for me DJ isn't easily discouraged and I realized I was turning down a great guy - a guy that ended up being my perfect match. Fast forward 8 years we're happier than ever and preparing to embark on our biggest adventure yet!

Back in May, I asked Liz's mom, Claire, and her Poppa, "Colonel Perkins", for their permission to marry Liz. Once I received the green light from both, Claire and I began to plan how I would propose. Nantucket is Liz's favorite place in the world, so it was an easy spot to choose and our annual summer vacation to the island was coming up in a few months. For some reason, I decided to tell all my co-workers, family, and pretty much all her friends about the proposal. Thankfully everyone can keep a secret because everyone knew but Liz! Fast forward to July, Claire and I were working from the Nantucket house and Liz was on the beach with her good friend Justine and about 30 other close friends. The original plan was to propose the next day, before a nice dinner in town. Instead, Claire and I decided to audible and do it that afternoon when we rejoined everyone at the beach. It's about a 20-minute drive from our house to the beach, so by the time we reached the beach, the ring had burned a hole in my pocket. Then we had to think of a creative way to get Liz away from the crowd. We were able to come up with two things: 1. I had a bad day at work and wanted to talk. or 2. My Grammy was sick. For some reason, I went with #2. Claire went up to Liz right when we got there and told her that I had a bad day and that I needed to talk to her. As we walked away from everyone, I began to tell Liz that Grammy wasn't feeling well, but soon realized that I had to kill more time than anticipated to get far enough away from everyone. Once we were clear of everyone, I dropped to one knee and said, "Grammy is fine", I felt the world shake at that moment. "Elizabeth Shaye Perkins, since I've known you, you have been the most important person in my life. You are my best friend, my rock, and you know me better thanI know myself. These last 6 years have been amazing, and I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with, will you marry me?" and she said, yes!

It all started when I twisted DJ’s arm into letting us start our annual beach vacation to Nantucket one day early. Knowing full well it meant a full beach day for me and my friend (and future bridesmaid!) Justine, and a work from home day for him. We arrived on ACK Thursday night, and Justine and I prepared for a full-Friday beach day the next day. We woke up, packed a few sandwiches and beers for the cooler and were off – leaving my mom and DJ behind at the house working. It was a typical beach day with all the staples: naps, waves, sunbathing, cold beer and good company, all that was missing were DJ and my mom. Fast forward to 5:30, when my mom and DJ finally join us on the beach. You can imagine that at this point, after a full day at the beach, that I wasn’t exactly looking my brightest – salty hair in a bun on top of my head, wet bathing suit, and wearing only an over-sized, sand ridden, long-sleeve t-shirt - not very proposal ready. When they got there my mom let me know that DJ had a tough day, so I go check on him and as we make our way down the beach, he starts to tell me about how “his Grammy isn’t doing well”. The odd part for me was, there were no specifics. She’s not doing well, but he never said what was wrong, but I can tell you that it was not looking good for Grammy! I think if we had to walk any further Grammy might not have made it to the end of the story! Just when things were about to take a turn for the worse for Grammy, DJ dropped to his knee. That's also when I blacked out and started crying hysterically, assuming this could only mean one thing. (See his section for what he said). All I remember is that I blurted out “Of course!!!” when he asked if I’d marry him. We spent the rest of our week-long vacation soaking up the love of our friends and family and making memories to last a lifetime! And yes, for those wondering, I was surprised…if I had any inkling that this would be happening, I would have put some pants on 😊.