S & J’s story starts back in 2009 when Jack and his family moved to Medfield, as next door neighbors to Sarah. The first four years breezed by with them living their very separate, albeit friendly, middle school lives, until the high school freshman Sadie Hawkins Dance when Sarah worked up the courage to ask Jack to be her date. They danced the night away and then went on once again with their separate lives, alternating who had a crush on who with the timing never quite aligning. Eventually, the stars did align during their Junior year of high school, and their lives were forever changed for the better - even if they didn’t know it at the time. Their high school romance continued on, and despite being connected at the hip, they approached the college selection process very independently. Jack was set to leave for Duke in August, while Sarah was headed to UMass. For two teenagers who had lived 20 feet apart for the entirety of their relationship, a two-hour flight felt astronomical. So, they did what they felt like they had to do, and did not acknowledge leaving each other for that entire summer. Deep down inside, they both knew that this might be their last summer together, so they enjoyed every second of it. Finally, a week before Jack was set to leave, they had the talk. Within 20 seconds, they realized that they would be silly to let what they had go. So, at 18 years old, they decided to embark on one of the most daunting, but valuable, challenges they’ll probably ever endure - long distance.

S & J are proud to say that they handled long distance surprisingly well. Monthly visits gave them milestones to look forward to while they were able to develop their social circles separately at school. Their time in college seemed to fly by until they were able to reward themselves by coordinating a semester abroad together during their Junior year of college. They were able to get their first taste of living together while exploring all that New Zealand had to offer! The final stretch of long distance once they were back at their respective schools went off without a hitch, and before they knew it they were graduated and back in the Boston area starting their careers - Jack in engineering at GE and Sarah in nursing at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.

Taking the next natural progression in stride, they moved in together in Charlestown and spent the next two years living their Boston lives to the fullest - wandering the streets of Charlestown, finding their favorite restaurants and coffee spots for our afternoon special treats, ski trips, spending more time at Lake George and Lake Winnepesauke in the summers than their own apartment, and traveling the world! It was on one of these trips that Jack decided after 8 years of dating that he should probably put a ring on that finger…

In the spring of 2023 they embarked on their bucket list vacation to Japan, including Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Miyajima. Unbeknownst to Sarah, Jack had been going on secret missions the mornings after her hospital night shifts to his Boston jeweler to design her (hopefully) dream ring. That same ring, along with the outline of a proposal plan, made its way to Japan in the hopes of forever bonding their relationship. The planned proposal was meant to go down in the hills of Kyoto at the site of a famous shrine. The saying “no plan survives first contact with the enemy” unfortunately rings true. In their case, the first enemy we encountered was a traditional Japanese breakfast of tofu, fish, and pickled vegetables. It’s safe to say that Sarah did not eat her fill at that breakfast and after a series of additional enemies, including but not limited to - logistical delays, thousands of tourists, getting lost on the mountain and ending up in a cemetery, and “hanger” (hungry-anger) starting to set in - the proposal was in serious jeopardy. To all of the people that were privy to the plan and staying awake for updates at 2 AM back home, Jack had to share the bad news that it might not be happening that day. Luckily, they were able to find some matcha ice cream and make an audible to the plan and they were back in business. The proposal ended up being even more special than the original plan and surprise, she said yes! They celebrated with some ice cold Asahi Super Dry, a traditional Japanese beer, and started to spread the news back home to those that were either awake or could be pulled out of REM at 4 AM - they were engaged!

Now happily engaged, S & J started planning for what was next in life. For them, that looked like embracing a full year and a half to plan a wedding and taking advantage of their relative personal and occupational freedoms to start a new chapter in a new city! They took a leap of faith and moved to Charleston, SC at the start of 2024 and have quickly found themselves a fantastic community making them immediately feel at home. They are staying busy with their new friends, old friends visiting, personal and work travel, and of course exploring all Charleston has to offer at the beach and trying every restaurant in the city!

We are so excited to welcome our loved ones to Saratoga for our wedding in September 2025! Everyone will get a taste of Fall in Upstate New York, in the backyard of our eternal happy place, Lake George. Saratoga has a great food and beer scene, and a strong history of performing arts and entertainment (see horse racing, apologies in advance for all of the horse themed decor you are going to be subject to!). We can’t wait to have all of the most special people in our lives in one place to celebrate with you all! Thank you all for being a part of our journey up to now and into the future, we love you!