In the spring of 2011, a chance meeting brought us together in a high school gym on Islesboro, Maine. Katie was on a high school marine biology field trip, where her teacher had a cousin who lived on the island and offered for Katie’s small class to stay with them while they did their marine science project. Blaise was attending the high school on the island and this cousin, Ms. Cindy, happened to be the school’s librarian. Ms. Cindy learned that both of us were going to the University of New England in the fall for college for Marine Biology, so at an island event that weekend, Ms. Cindy introduced us to each other. After a slightly awkward interaction that night, we both went our separate ways finishing off our senior year, and then sure enough we met again during the first week of college that fall!

We spent the first few years of school, eating the occasional lunch together and hanging out when our friend groups overlapped, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2014 that we began to grow closer. That summer we were both working in research labs on campus, and Katie invited Blaise to her birthday dinner and to go out to Portland afterwards. Blaise took her up on the invitation, but after being up early for work that day he took a rain check on the night out in Portland. Thankfully they did not forget about the rain check and that fall after school started Katie and Blaise went to a local restaurant for dinner and drinks and ended up chatting and having a wonderful evening together. Throughout that fall and winter, they spent more time together and started dating just before graduating from college.

After graduating from UNE, we started our careers as marine biologists, and spent a few years living in various towns throughout New England for our jobs. Unfortunately, those towns were always different from one another, but we made the best of it, visiting as often as we could on weekends or during holidays and taking vacations together. After spending the first few years of our relationship living usually a few hours away from one another, in the spring of 2019 both our jobs finally allowed us to live together in Brunswick, Maine!

Jumping a few years ahead to October of 2021, Blaise and Katie had plans to go to York, Maine for a dinner date and to spend the night for a little getaway, what Katie did not know was that Blaise was also planning to propose that day. On that blustery sunny fall day, after a beach walk on Long Sands Beach, we went just up the road to Nubble light house, one of Katie’s favorite spots on the Maine coast. After taking a few photos and watching the surf roll in Katie turned to head back to the car, but Blaise had one more thing to do before leaving the lighthouse. He got down on one knee and asked Katie to marry him, and she happily said YES!! Since then, we have continued to spend as much time together as possible, often outside and near the ocean, doing the things we both love to do. We are counting down the days until our wedding and hope to see you all there!