We're getting married!

Sean and I officially met each other as coworkers at McDonald's at the end of our junior year of high school. Before then, we had mutual friends but never crossed paths. I'd been working at McDonald's for about a year when I decided to look for a different job. As I walked out of McDonald's after giving my notice, Sean walked in for his first day at work. I recognized him, walked out the door, and didn't think anything else of it. After some months, I found myself feeling a little lost without the constant chaos of the Mac Shack (and lacking consistent hours to support my makeup and snack habits). I walked into McDonald's to visit one night, and the manager on shift told me they needed me to come back. Apparently, my frying & bagging skills were in high demand. So, I said yes. Sean Coogan was still on staff, and he had become known as one of the more reliable young men in the grill area. I got reacquainted with Ronald McDonald and reconnected with friends that Sean had also grown friendships with. I quickly noticed he was funny without trying, smarter than he realized, and a hard worker with a smile. I also noticed he'd had quite a, uhm... a glow-up since I'd last seen him. We ended up working side by side often, and grew respect for each other through our leveled-up burger flipping skills. Our friendship grew over the summer before our senior year started, and as the colors began to shift for fall & we got to know each other's hearts... well, I could feel that it wasn't just a friendship anymore. We started hanging out more outside of work, usually with friends - who started to notice what was happening before we did. We had made some cheesy plans to go see the animals at the shelter, have lunch at Cici's Pizza, and watch a sappy movie. It was on some random Monday with no school. I was a little nervous on the days leading up, because we had even laughed off that our plans for that Monday were NOT a date. But at that point, I was admitting to myself I wanted it to be. After an evening of overthinking in the drive thru, Sean asked me what was up. I told him it was nothing, but he asked to talk more after work. When we did, I word-vomited thoughts and feelings that were drenched with adolescent hopeless romanticism. Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised he felt the same way, but I was. We ended that night by confirming our date for Monday, which happened to be October 27, 2014. He asked me to be his girlfriend at the end of that unique first date (someone please bring Cici's Pizza back), and we have celebrated our anniversary on that date every year since. Our wedding day is not the beginning for us. It's a celebration of our journey and growth thus far: leaving childhood behind, surviving our 20's, stumbling through phases of hardship & grief, building our careers & life as we know it today. As we put the pen on the first page of our next story, we are so very excited to ask you to join us in celebrating our love with an event that's over 11 years in the making. - Rachel