Joie de vivre!

Yes, our romantic love story started with both of us swiping right which resulted in a blind date in late March 2014. John was kind enough to notify Veronica that he would be 15 minutes late, after she was already 30 minutes early - the concept of Cooney-time would be learned in due time. They ended up at El Gato, a Mexican restaurant on Church Street in downtown Burlington, and partially due to Veronica’s nervousness and need to fill any silence with talking, dinner lasted over two and a half hours. Between stories about travel and family, the evening seemed to be going well until the farewell hug resulted in John patting her on the back several times, a gesture she assumed put her into the friend-zone. A surprise phone call (yes a phone call) a few days later resulted in second date plans where John showed off his culinary skills and an agreement from both parties indicating they were not looking for anything serious. In retrospect this took all the pressure off and they were both unequivocally themselves from the beginning. Another surprise came shortly after when John invited her to the Cooney & King family Easter gathering and she drove down to Moreau NY to meet him and his family. As she was about 5 miles from his home, he called to say the hike in the Adirondacks he went on that morning took longer than expected and he wouldn’t be back for over an hour (the desire to fit in as many activities as possible into a single day is another character trait Veronica would come to learn). John called to warn his parents of her impending arrival and she ended up at their kitchen island, talking with his parents and eating delicious food. He introduced Veronica as his girlfriend to the rest of the family at Easter (which was news to her) but their previous agreement was clearly null and void.

It was a Thursday afternoon at 11:45 and John had just picked up the ring he had custom made. Once he saw the final product, all of John’s thoughts about work, running late for their scheduled time of departure, and everything else disappeared because the ring was exactly what he’d hope it would be. Upon arriving in the city, it was a cold, clear, starry night and they made their way over to connect with Alex & Emily. On the way, they walked towards the historic Château Frontenac that was surrounded by ice sculptures and lit up with beautiful multi-colored lights highlighting the ice and architecture. Standing on the stone ledge lookout with the hotel to their backs, they soaked in the view of the beautiful glow of the old town below, blanketed in a fresh layer of snow. John knew that this was the moment, the spot, and the exact setting he wanted for his proposal. If only the ring wasn’t back in the room... The next morning Alex, Emily, Veronica, and John began their walking tour of the city and by midday were wandering through the Fields of Abraham. Veronica ran ahead to the barrier at the edge of the cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence and old town Quebec City. John ran up behind her and dropped to one knee and after what felt like an eternity, she turned around and heard “Will you marry me?” Maybe it was a bright sunlight mixed with the blinding white of the snow-covered ground, but she clearly did not notice the ring and asked him if he was joking, as a fake proposal the previous summer was still fresh in memory. He persisted with a hope that this would be the start of their legacy together, and a definite yes was quickly followed. The weekend was filled with cocktails at the Château Frontenac, delicious food and mulled wine, a late night parade, celebrations at the winter carnival, as well as a ski day at Le Massif to top it off. It was a weekend they will never forget!