There was much uncertainty in the lives of Hope and Jason prior to the day that they met. In the light of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, Jason’s last semester of undergraduate education, and Hope’s first year in the workforce — relative constants to that point in time — quickly became full of uncertainty. Jason received a last minute offer at his future employer, and Hope got an unexpectedly early invite back to work, and that is where The Story begins.

On Hope’s first day back, Jason was simply expecting a new coworker, hoping that it would be someone he would generally like and get along with. What Jason was not expecting, was how both Hope and Jason recount the day that they met — filled with smiles, a particularly memorable moment while hiking, and what felt like immediate chemistry. While it was clear that the two were different in many ways, their sense of humor, taste in music, and interests in puzzles is what initially drew them together.

Hope and Jay quickly became friends, within a group of coworkers that became very tight-knit. Memories ensued in earnest - camping trips, paintball, movie nights galore. Hope getting woken up on her birthday from a FaceTime from Jason, sharing in the moment of a beautiful beach sunrise. Beach trips. Long weekends visiting Hope’s family in Ohio, and endless days spent playing games with Jason’s parents. More beach trips. More movie nights. Long walks. Painting. Puzzling. Cooking. Baking. FOOD. Surprises, big and small. The list goes on. Before very long, it became increasingly clear that Hope and Jason envisioned spending the rest of their lives together.

It was only fitting to return to the place where Jason first had that thought - that he could spend the rest of his life with Hope - to ask her to marry him. So returned they did, on a day that felt like it was out of a dream. Hope’s ideal day: so foggy you could barely see in front of you, cool and breezy, waves crashing against the sand in the distance. And now, Hope and Jason would love you to be a part of the next huge chapter in their story: The Beginning of the Rest of Their Lives.