Derek and Bri met while attending college at Fitchburg State University in 2010. The first day we met was on the last day of classes, known as Spree Day around campus (and the biggest party day of the year.) Derek knew he liked Bri that first day, as she was dressed in basketball shorts, hair in a messy bun, and partying with her girlfriends in the dorms.

Once school was back in session that fall, we began spending more time together amongst friends, and quickly became inseparable. One of our first official dates together was a drive to the top of Mount Wachusett to see the foliage.

The next few years of college were spent making memories with our best friends, attending many concerts together, eating lots of Campus Pizza, and exploring many waterfalls and rope swings together.

In 2015, Bri and Derek moved into their first apartment, along with their friends Matt, Emily & Tieri. Bri managed to get the whole house on board with fostering dogs for Last Hope K9 Rescue. In this time, we had our first “foster-fail” with Mattie, a sweet, white, senior pittie-mix, (little did Derek know this would not be our last…)

In Fall of 2017, Bri and Derek moved out of the apartment and moved in with Derek’s family in his childhood home and started saving to buy our first home. In this time, Mattie lost her fight to cancer and we adopted our second pup together, Zara.

On a Friday night in April of 2018, Derek and Bri were headed out for margaritas and Mexican at Ixtapa. As we were leaving for dinner, Bri led out the door to the driveway, and as she turned around, she saw Derek down on one knee with truly the ring of her dreams.

Derek asked Bri nervously to marry him, and she responded completely shocked first with a “Are you joking?!” and then quickly followed with a “YES!” We celebrated with queso and margs, which should come as no surprise…

In late 2018, Derek and Bri purchased their home in Billerica. On the day we signed the papers, Bri impulsively decided to sign up to foster a sweet, white, senior pittie-mix named Layla, who they soon fell in love with and adopted.

Over the years, we’ve continued to make Sachem Street not just a house, but a home. We’ve made many memories hosting holidays, our family & friends, celebrating each other’s birthdays with epic joint parties, and spoiling a lot of foster dogs, and our own pups, including our newest addition, JJ.

IF YOU ASK BRI

- “The road trip to Colorado with him and Zara”

- “Derek teaching me how to snowboard”

- “Watching Derek be an Uncle”

- “Our hug every morning”

- “Adopting senior dogs together”

IF YOU ASK DEREK

- “Our love for music/concerts”

- “A sunny day on the deck together”

- “Traveling, especially to Hawaii”

- “Camping with our dogs”

- “Introducing her to and turning her onto chicken finger subs, and bacon”