Alex and Shea met one night during the winter of 2019 in one of the most romantic places in downtown Salem... a local college bar (the place everyone dreams of meeting their future spouse, right?!) Legend has it that Alex heard a beautiful blonde gal by the name of Shea was going to be out and meeting up with one of his best friends that night (shout out to Amico). He of course knew that he needed to tag along and meet this girl! He put on his best outfit, had a cup of liquid courage (most likely) and set off for the night. And just so we are all clear, his best outfit consisted of a pair of jeans, a light jacket, and of course the iconic scally cap. Shea arrived at the bar with a few of her girlfriends. She scanned the room for a few more of her friends, and next thing she knew, this handsome young man in a scally cap was walking straight towards her. She was immediately taken aback by his beaming smile, sweet dimples, and obvious confidence (I mean what 21 year old wears a scally cap and makes it look that good?) Alex went right up to Shea and introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Alex!" Shea of course had to play it cool, even though her stomach was filled with butterflies and face most definitely flushed, "Hey, I'm Shea". They proceeded to chat the whole night away. He even bought her a drink-- a Tito's and ginger ale, even though she most certainly asked for a Tito's soda, but she drank it anyway. They did exchange phone numbers at the end of the night and Shea anxiously awaited Alex to text her. A few days later Shea received a message from Alex. It was just a GIF of Jimmy Fallon throwing hay with the words "Haaaay!" written on the image. Shea laughed to herself and thought, "Uh oh, I think I love this kid". And the rest is history...

Alex had been planning the proposal for months. He decided to take Shea back to the location of the first place they went away together--North Conway, NH! Shea didn't think much of it and was just excited to get away for the weekend. They drove up north on Friday after work and had a great time together that night--lots of laughs and blueberry beers from Seadog! Shea should have expected that something was in the works the following day... especially when she woke up to Alex wide awake, sitting straight up in the bed at 7am on a Saturday morning. When she first blinked open her eyes, Alex rang out, "Morning! Want to get up and grab some coffee?!" For those of you who know Shea, she is most definitely not a morning person, but she decided to seize the day that morning and get up right then to join Alex in the search of a good coffee shop. With coffees secured, Alex suggested driving to a nice scenic spot to sit and enjoy the morning together. He had a specific place in mind and they then ventured out of the downtown area and into the mountains. Keep in mind, it is early March in New Hampshire--there was lots of snow siding the streets and sidewalks. The first location Alex tried to go to was closed for the season. But, he had a backup plan of course. Unfortunately, that location was closed as well because the walking path had not been cleared of the snow. When Alex was just about to run out of locations to go to, they stumbled upon a secluded entrance to Mount Washington. Alex drove down the path and convinced Shea to get out of the car to take a photo. The view was beautiful so she again, didn't think much of it. After a few photos and selfies, Alex took Shea by the hands and unveiled his undying love for her (he most definitely had a sweet, heartfelt speech, but honestly both of them kind of blacked out in the moment and can't really remember what he even said!) Alex then got on one knee and asked Shea to marry him. She, of course, said yes.