love at first flight

Technically, Craigslist.com is who Ava & Reese can thank for their paths crossing. Let's start from the beginning. Ava was looking for a roommate to live with her in her Charlestown, MA condo. Because it was off season, and all of her friends already had leases, she took to Craigslist.com upon her father's advice. After receiving many strange emails from different candidates, she finally came upon someone that seemed to be a good fit - her name was Kathleen and she lived in Petaluma, CA. She was coming to Boston for nursing school. Ava and Kathleen Skyped and instantly fell in love with each other - and luckily neither were serial killers! She moved in with Ava and they quickly became close friends. In early 2017, Kathleen and Ava traveled to Petaluma so Ava could experience Kathleen's home. Kathleen’s parents urged her brother, Reese, to come visit so he could meet her roommate. After a quick conversation, some beers at Lagunitas and a trip to the local casino, both Ava & Reese thought the other was "awesome."

In May of 2017, Reese planned a trip to visit his sister for her graduation from Nursing School. He and his friend, Vince, wanted to experience Boston & NYC on their way to the Preakness in Maryland. Ava offered for the two guys to stay at the condo so she could attempt to make their trip a little more authentic. After a week long adventure in Boston and New York, one particular evening stood out to both of them. Late at night, as they sat on the rooftop of the NYC condo, the four new friends chatted about life, past experiences, careers & goals. Ava told Reese about her father, who had loved that rooftop in New York so much, and how influential he was in Ava's life. Everyone soon drifted off, Ava first, but Reese stayed up, thinking and looking out over traffic until it was time for bed. The next morning, the guys left for the Preakness, and the girls returned to Boston. Ava & Reese secretly knew they had each met someone extremely special. The next week, Ava received a message. It was a two day old text message that came through on her (thought to be) broken phone. It was from Reese, explaining how he felt about their trip they had shared as friends. Ava beamed with joy because she, too, had felt exactly the same way. Reese called her while she was shopping (shocking), so he left her a voicemail asking her to a Skype dinner date - ironically the same way Ava and Kathleen’s relationship began. Hour long Skype dates & phone calls turned into a first date in San Diego for the Firefighter Olympics. On that trip, they both dropped their first "I love you’s” and began planning how they would make this work. For a few months, they traveled back and forth, visiting between Boston and Sacramento, but they knew it was the real deal. Ava decided to make the leap and in October of 2017, Reese & Ava moved in to a downtown apartment in Sacramento. Two and a half years later, Reese had a special evening up his sleeve.

On Labor Day Weekend of 2018, Ava and Reese went back to NYC to visit Ava's brother, Max and his then girlfriend, now WIFE!, Brittany. They had such a special time in the city where the two had fallen in love a short year and a half before, that they decided to make this trip an annual event. On Labor Day Weekend of 2019, Reese & Ava went on this annual trip to New York City. Upon arrival after their red-eye flight, they grabbed their favorite east coast food, New York Bagels. After a quick nap to catch up on some sleep, Reese, Ava, Max and Brittany went to brunch. After that, they walked around and did some shopping (again - shocking). After finding a dress she loved, they grabbed a drink on the roof at a bar called 230 Fifth - Ava would later find out that this was all a distraction and a way to take up time. They all walked back to their condo to get ready for dinner. But first, they really wanted to have some wine and appetizers on the rooftop - the same rooftop where that late night conversations happened during the 2017 Roadtrip with Kathleen and Vince, and the same roofdeck that Ava's father enjoyed so much. Ava noticed that no one was eating anything, but she didn't think too much of it- turns out everyone was nervous for what was about to transpire. As per usual, she didn’t have her glasses on, so Ava couldn’t see her mom, Linda and her childhood best friend, Catie approach the table. She muttered, “Great, here comes people.” When she could finally see who it was, Ava got up to hug them. Max slipped Reese the ring while Ava’s back was turned. As she turned around, she could see Reese smiling - she knew what was coming. Reese asked Ava to marry her at sunset in one of the most special places in Ava's life, and their relationship. She didn't say "yes," though. She completely forgot her words and said "omg, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do." Reese looked at her and said "Well, you could take the ring if you want." The the rest is history.