Our Story

Jack:  Mere and I met before classes even started in freshman year of college. We instantly became best friends - for real! I remember tearful goodbyes freshman year fall break, despite the fact we had known each other for about a month. Despite the ending to our story (don't skip ahead!), we were very platonic all 4 years of college, if a little flirtatious. It wasn't until the end of senior year that SOMETHING changed in my head. Maybe it was something about leaving school and not living next door to each other anymore, but I started to think of Mere in a way that wasn't so...platonic. It all came to a head during senior week. We were sleep deprived, sunburnt, emotionally a little frazzled, and kissing each other? Then we graduated! I left school with a lot of questions, but I was absolutely sure Mere and I had something I didn't want to let go. 

Mere: Jack and I became fast friends pretty much from Day 1 at Hamilton when we met outside our residence hall. We just got each other! He made me laugh so hard, and I felt like I could be 100% myself around him - one of those friends that you feel like you have known forever. Our friendship over the four years at school was seriously the best - we supported each other, had an absolute blast being silly & sometimes reckless college students, got each other through some hard times, and got to know each other's family and even friends from high school. I knew that Jack would always have my back no matter what. Things definitely changed towards the end of senior year knowing that we wouldn't be able to see each other every day. The day my parents moved me out of college, Jack texted me and asked if he could come say a quick goodbye. He came up to my dorm room that was all packed up, and with my Dad in the room (lol) Jack hugged me and we parted ways.  I remember that hug so well - it was an important one! So much had happened those last couple weeks of school, and I think we both knew something special had started but were uncertain about what would happen next. 

Jack: The year after college was a little funky. I lived at home attempting to figure out what to do with my life, while Mere quickly became gainfully employed at a fairly unpleasant company, which was, thankfully, in Boston! After work I would drive to her apartment to spend most nights, much to the chagrin of her roommates. Our 4 years of close friendship mixed up some of the classic relationship benchmarks: memorably, I told Mere I loved her BEFORE I asked her to officially be my girlfriend. And that was in July: we had been together about a month! What was I thinking? For our first "date", I drove up to Biddeford to visit Mere and her parents, and ended up staying for 4 days (thanks for the hospitality Amy & Jim!). 

When COVID hit, it felt like our lives were over! Mere moved home, which meant we were officially long distance. Over time our family "bubbles" merged a little, so thankfully we were able to spend weekends together. Summer of 2020 found us both unemployed and a little aimless. All I knew is I wanted to stay with Mere!

August of 2020: I was sitting on the couch  when I got a call from Mere. She had gotten a job! It was in Providence! 

I took a moment. I had been looking for jobs around Boston, but to be honest hadn't been getting a ton of traction. I'd been living at home for over a year (thanks Mom and Dad!). They were redoing the kitchen, so we had been eating meals cooked in the basement, and working through construction noises during the day. I had a moment of impulsivity. 

"Ok, When are we moving?"

Mere: 

Jack and I had so much fun the first year after we graduated. We felt like real adults,  just winging it with new jobs and experiences. Jack  helped me move into my first apartment and our first year of dating was spent galivanting around the Somerville/Medford area just enjoying being in love. Most nights Jack would come to my place in Medford and we'd sit on my roof, chatting, sipping wine, and watching the sunset. COVID did hit us hard, it was tough realizing that we would no longer be living 25 minutes away from each other, but we made it work. We spent a lot of time at each other's parent's houses and created our COVID bubble. It is also important to mention that I gave Jack many haircuts during the COVID times, and I think I got pretty good at it. Feeling a little restless from all of the isolation, we decided to take a road trip together during the Summer of 2020 to the Blue Ridge Mountains, which was our first real vacation together. It's funny how the 10 hour car ride, 90 degree nights in a tent, and lack of refrigerated food didn't phase us that week - I think we were just so happy to be together that nothing could get in our way! Soon after our road trip, I heard that I got a job in the Providence area. I guess our week on the road didn't scare him away, and Jack didn't hesitate for a second before suggesting that we move together :)

Jack: PROVIDENCE! We moved into the second floor of a lovely victorian and did our best impression of normal adult people. The transition to living together was a little scary at first! I was so used to seeing Mere being a special celebration that I had to give myself some time to calm down a little (pace yourself!). Over time, though, we forged a sweet little life in Providence. The first year, with COVID in full swing, we absolutely created a nest: Houseplants in every corner, Fridays at home cooking soups, brewing beer: frankly, I couldn't believe I had found someone I could spend so much time with! Providence wasn't without its struggles: our jobs were tough at times, and our beautiful, Victorian apartment featured not so beautiful, Victorian horsehair insulation, and a couple GIANT rats. That apartment though, and Providence as a whole, will always have a special place in my heart.

Mere: Moving in together after only a year and a bit was definitely crazy, but it also felt like the world was ending a little bit so we just went for it. We found the perfect apartment on the East Side of Providence. Our home became the perfect combination of everything Jack and I had grown up with - Jack's family's dining room table and chairs, dishes from my parent's house, and, of course, Ma and Pa's legendary wingback chairs. We really felt like grown ups, and loved getting to know our neighborhood, finding our favorite spots to eat, and attempting to make friends. It definitely wasn't easy to move to a new city together and meet new friends during COVID, but we put ourselves out there joining adult sport leagues, beer clubs, and having fire pit hangs with our downstairs neighbors. I learned so much about Jack when we moved in together, and it made me love him even more. He would do so many little things to make me feel loved and supportive. A small example - there was a winters day when I was outside pretty much the whole day in the cold doing soil sampling for my job at the time. Our bathroom shower was pretty dinky when we moved in, and when I got home after the long day I realized that Jack had replaced the showerhead with a super sleek high-pressure one! Coming home to a super-powered hot shower was pretty incredible. We helped each other through some hard times during the Providence years, and I know that it made our relationship even stronger. We knew Providence wouldn't be our forever home, but it really was the perfect place to "try out" living together for the first time. 

Jack: Coming to Boston did not feel at all like it was definitely the right move at first! We came because I had gotten a contract job at Puma - rent would go way up, and Mere still had to commute back to Providence a few ways a week. It was absolutely a sacrifice for Mere, but when we found the perfect apartment in the right spot, we pulled the trigger. I am SO glad we did - fast forward 2 years and we both have fulfilling jobs that we couldn't have found in Providence (I was quickly fired from Puma, but thats another story...), we're close to friends and family, and we absolutely love our place. These past two years have really felt like we've hit a groove: we've been through COVID, some tough jobs and non-ideal living situations, and we've managed to grow and adapt together through it. Life feels full in a busy but exciting way, and Mere and I have become a team in a way that can only be earned. Somewhere in the past 5 years, our connection became totally second nature: I don't think there's anyone out there who understands me better than Mere.

Mere:  Our next move was also job related, and this one was an even bigger leap of faith. The plan was that Jack would be starting a new role in downtown Boston and I would be staying at my job in Providence, so we decided to move to West Roxbury as a middle-ground. Moving back to Boston was a game-changer - suddenly we were living within a short drive of so many of our close friends and family. Another thing I love about Jack (and I think this is a safe space for me to gush...) is that he truly, utterly, and without any doubt believes in me. I struggled for a while finding a job I was passionate about, and Jack encouraged me through months of interviews that ended with no offers and pushed me to apply for jobs that I thought I was underqualified for. Turns out one of those jobs turned into a really great opportunity, and I am the happiest I've ever been in my current role. There have been countless times where I've been on the fence about something, whether it was hosting an event at work or joining a band (shout out to the Little Bluestems!), and Jack gave me that extra little encouragement I needed to jump in and take a risk. That is a quality I love in Jack and why he is truly an amazing partner. In the last few years, we continued to grow together, take risks, and encourage each other on in our endeavors. We've also had quite a bit of fun - from awesome family trips to Ireland, Costa Rica, & Miami to getting to be part of our brother's weddings - Tom & Gaby and Nick & Emilee weeks apart in October 2023, and so many fun times in Boston with our Hamilton gang. 

Jack: Truth be told, I think I knew I would Marry Mere by the time we were living together in Providence. Since very early on I had felt this confidence that Mere was the one for me -- it made it very easy to take these leaps of faith throughout our relationship, because I never had any doubt about Mere and I's relationship being what I wanted for the rest of my life. Why let it go?? So the whole ENGAGEMENT thing felt simultaneously like the most obvious step in the world, especially after getting a front row seat to both of our brothers' weddings, and like the scariest thing I had ever done. My only direction came from a conversation in September 2022, where Mere told me that she wanted 1. A surprise, and 2. For me to ask her dad. Mental note made; I had my orders! The first point meant that I didn't have much direction for a ring - I enlisted some of Mere's friends (thanks Annaliese!), but at the end of the day I went with my gut for what I thought she would like. I also hit a stroke of luck when Mere found a ring she liked at a thrift store that fit on her ring finger: I bought it for her on the spot. 

I called Jim (Mere's dad, for the uninitiated), on the Monday before the big weekend. We had such a lovely conversation, and I unknowingly parroted the words he had used prior to asking Amy's parents for her hand -- "I'll cut to the chase...". Jim and Amy played their role perfectly - which was mainly to play it cool until I had done the deed. I did a pretty good job of compartmentalizing up until about two hours before, where I had to have a couple silent mirror conversations in order to pull myself together. The question itself on the beach was perfect; a mix of joy, and, honestly, relief that I had pulled it off! 

Mere: JUST in case you haven't heard the details, I'll explain here why August 18, 2024 was the best day of my life so far! And that is competing with the Vermont Cheese Festival which Jack took me to in our early days of dating which I previously claimed was the best day of my life (for reference it was all-you-can eat cheese and all you can drink wine all day long at the most beautiful setting next to Lake Champlain). So here's how it all went down. Jack and I were up in Biddeford for the weekend, and the plan was that Nancy & Tony were going to come up to Maine as well to have dinner with my parents that Saturday. So on Friday we did all of the best things one does in August in Maine - we started the day with an intense doubles tennis match (Jack & Mere vs. Jim & Amy) and we whooped my parents (it was actually pretty close but we did beat them if I remember correctly). Then in the afternoon we read on the beach and took a dip in the ocean. Everyone seemed a little bit extra giddy that day but I wasn't suspicious...yet. Jack had planned that we would go on a beach picnic in the early evening. When we left for the beach, my parents didn't really ask me any details about our plan, which was super unlike them (the suspicion was growing). Then we walked to the spot on Middle Beach that we actually had our first date at 5 years before. After setting up our picnic, we walked towards the ocean and Jack got down on one knee. It was a pretty surreal moment and while I don't remember exactly what I said or what Jack said, all I know is that it was the easiest YES ever and I was literally jumping up and down with happiness. My parents were sneakily about 10 minutes behind us and joined us on the beach after it all went down and we popped the champagne. That weekend was so special - LOTs of celebrating down with both of our families and we immediately started to plan our wedding (which yes, we know was crazy of us but why contain the excitement!?) We can't wait to be back in Biddeford about the same time one year later to get married and celebrate with you all, and if you made it this far down in our story - thanks for tuning in :)