We met at South Bend, Indiana's finest dive bar - CJ's Pub - on a Thursday night when Jake was a junior and Danielle was a senior at Notre Dame.

We started "officially" dating the night before Valentine's Day in 2020, while we were at the ND Senior Formal. That weekend was "Junior Parents Weekend" at Notre Dame, and Danielle met Jake's parents for the first time.

In March of 2020, we were both on our Spring Breaks when Covid hit. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we would never be back at school together, and so began our long distance relationship. In April, Danielle drove 14 hours from South Bend to Boxford, MA to visit Jake. That was the first time Danielle met Jake's four sisters - who couldn't get over that Jake had a girlfriend - and who could not have been more fun and welcoming. That weekend, we spent the days doing a "lighthouse tour" of the North Shore of Boston and the nights hanging out in the pool house with Jake's friends. We both look back on that early weekend with so much fondness.

In June 2020, after graduating virtually, Danielle moved to Boston to start her software engineering job. Jake met Danielle’s parents for the first time when she moved in to her Fenway apartment. That summer, Jake was at home in MA because Covid forced his Chicago internship to be fully remote. We spent every weekend that Covid summer together - on the Cahills' boat or in their backyard and at the Boston restaurants that were open - often accompanied by Jake’s best friend, Nikko. We made the most of that very strange time, and felt grateful to have had those unexpected months together early in our relationship before Jake went back to Notre Dame for his senior year.

Jake graduated Notre Dame in May of 2021. Over the course of that previous year, we spent most of our time apart - with a few long weekends at Notre Dame together, and a lot of long phone calls. After graduation, Jake moved to Chicago to start his investment banking job. Thanks to the remote flexibility of her job and the graciousness of Jake’s Chicago roommates, Griffin and Fess, Danielle visited from Boston quite often that year. Jake’s work hours were demanding, but we explored Chicago when we could and truly cherished our time together when we got it.

In May of 2022, Jake transferred offices to NYC and Danielle got approved to fully work from home, and so the two of us moved to Manhattan. We were so happy to have reached the end of the long-distance era, and we did everything together - bottomless mimosa dates, walks to get bagels, and takeout chinese food nights were some of our favorites. We loved being just a train ride away from Danielle’s family in Westchester, who we got to see all the time. Some of our best friends lived in the city as well - Danielle’s college roommate, Emma, and Jake’s childhood friend, Kyle, to name a few, and we spent nearly every weekend out and about. Our lives mirrored the business and buzz of NYC, and we enjoyed every moment!

In July of 2023, we moved back to Boston in anticipation of Jake starting a new job in August. We quickly settled in to routine here in Boston, and have appreciated the comfort and stability, as well as the many close friends we have here. Since being back in Boston, we have taken advantage of all New England has to offer - taking trips to Cape Cod, Nantucket, Maine, & Vermont - enjoying the four seasons & a lot of great seafood along the way.

On the morning of July 6, 2024, we had plans to go to brunch in Marblehead - on the North Shore of Mass - and go for a walk along the water. We drove to the lighthouse on the Marblehead Neck - one of the lighthouses we'd visited during the aforementioned "tour" back in April 2020. (The picture of Jake from that weekend is at this very same lighthouse). As we were reminiscing on those early days, Jake got down on one knee and proposed, and it was a perfect moment - which was secretly photographed by our friend Sam’s little brother. When we got back to the Cahills' house after brunch, Danielle’s whole family was there to add to the surprise and to the emotions. Danielle’s sister, Jen, and Jake’s sister, Sammy, had coordinated to plan everything, and it could not have been more special. We had the most perfect day celebrating with all our family and friends, and we have been on cloud nine ever since.