At the time, Maggie was living in Boston, MA & Brian was down in Newport, RI. Their paths first crossed one beautiful August evening at none other than the Fastnet Pub in downtown Newport. Between the beer-spilled floors and a packed patio, Maggie spotted Brian & the two ended up spending the night bonding over her impressively terrible dart skills (which, for some reason, Brian found very endearing). From there, the rest is history. They spent about a year splitting time between two of the best spots in New England, Boston & Newport. Even though the dart board didn't show it... they both hit the bullseye that evening.

Despite living miles apart, Brian and Maggie quickly realized their connection was something special. What followed was a season of getting to know each other’s worlds: meeting family, meeting friends & building a shared life in between. Maggie first met the Goepfert crew at a birthday party. To say she was nervous would be an understatement, but she quickly felt at ease thanks to the warmth of Brian’s family, and the joyful, high-energy fun of his then 9 nieces and nephews, who made it an unforgettable day. Brian met Maggie’s family in Boston’s North End, over plenty of laughs and even more pasta. From the start, Maggie’s family embraced Brian for his kind eyes and gentle spirit, and it didn’t take long for everyone to see how naturally he fit in. That next year brought a stretch of long distance, Maggie in the North End and Brian in East Greenwich, but plenty of time together in between. Weekends were filled with friends, family time, and Brian teaching Maggie the world of craft beer. Eventually, they met in the middle and made Norwood, MA their home. What once meant saying goodbye at the end of weekends turned into mornings spent bonding over new espresso beans & evenings spent cooking together and watching their favorite movies. From there, their world kept expanding. Their first international trip to Montreal officially reignited Brian’s travel bug (much to Maggie’s delight). Since then, they’ve shared adventures across France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Australia- with more to come, including Spain and Croatia this summer.

After some sus behavior & some location-sharing being turned off- on a chilly December night, Maggie had a feeling something was up. She had been joking with Brian for weeks that he had until her 30th birthday to propose & at this point, he had just three days left on the clock! Meanwhile, Brian (and a whole team of co-conspirators) had been planning something special for Maggie's birthday; though she had no idea just how special. The two of them walked into Blackmoor, one of their favorite spots in the city, to find a surprise birthday with Maggie's friends and family! Maggie assumed that if a proposal were going to happen that night, it would have happened before the party. So, she relaxed, grabbed a drink and celebrated her 30th. Brian, however, was just getting started! After a couple hours of celebrating (and a few subtle "are you ready man?"'s it was time for cake. Maggie blew out her candles, made her wish and when she turned around to find Brian, she found him down on one knee! Completely shocked, Maggie said yes, of course! Brian had pulled off not one, but two surprises in a single night.