We first met in 1997 at Voluntown Elementary School when Jesse and his family moved to town. I was the tomboy who was most comfortable on a basketball court and preferred to hang out with the guys. I refused to wear pink and avoided dresses at all costs. The early years were spent at Saturday morning basketball and hanging out at school functions. I had a crush from the start but Jesse may not have noticed as I was a bit on the quieter side. There was the time I sat in the hallway reading during class, and he tossed me jelly beans into the hallway, or the slow dance we shared at his 8th Grade Banquet. There was a party I couldn't attend, because he was "a boy" (and my parents were not quite ready for that just yet). Then high school happened and life brought us in different directions. Jesse spent time in Florida and South Carolina, while I stayed here in CT. When he came back to CT we both had started our lives. It is a story that you really could not make up. We have a photo of us together with our exes at Nate's wedding. I took his maternity photos when his son was due. His daughter attended my center for preschool. Over the years we just kept running into each other. Fast forward to 2019, I found out that Jesse and his family had just lost everything in a fire. Concerned I reached out to see what they might need. We talked about life and about hardship, we talked about God's love and grace, and we talked about loss and shared how things had changed over the years. The conversations came easy, and our connection was natural. We bonded over life experiences and shared hardships. As our friendship grew we decided to take a chance on love! Our path was in no way conventional, but we have found a love that was meant to be. Now here we are planning our future together and asking you to join us on our big day!