It was Marian High School's orientation day, summer 2005, when Katie and Joe first met. A friend, Julie, knew them both and introduced the two. Soon enough, Katie was with her friends, telling them she had met a cute guy, who definitely looked like he "just got his braces off" (something to brag about at 14).

By October, Katie and Joe were talking and passing notes in school every day. Katie was very fond of Joe's sense of humor and Joe liked Katie's even better sense of humor. They bonded over their ability to have fun in any situation, their sense of adventure, and their love of Hollister clothing. Soon enough, Joe was asking Katie out in the cafeteria near the vending machines. They were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.

The two became best friends and would cheer for each other at football games, track meets, and softball games. For their Friday night dates, their parents would drive them to and from one another's houses (one hour round trip). They would spend summers apart, but Katie would visit Joe's family on Cape Cod and Joe would travel to Katie's family in Vinalhaven, Maine. Soon enough, they began to view each other's families as an extension of their own.

When it came time to decide on a college, the two knew they could handle the distance. Katie moved to New York to study nursing at NYU and Joe attended Stonehill in Easton, MA to study accounting. They became very familiar with Bolt Bus and Amtrak. They spent two semesters apart in Florence, Italy and visited each other on their Spring Breaks, traveling to Paris and Venice. Many bus rides and facetime dates later, they graduated and started jobs in their prospective cities.

Flash forward to December 2014- Katie moved to Boston and started work at Dana Farber. They lived in a teeny tiny 500 sq ft apartment in Coolidge Corner (ok they still live there...) but they were FINALLY done with their long distance relationship!!!

On their 10 year anniversary, they planned a trip to Marco Island, Florida. On the beach at sunset, Joe proposed to Katie while a violinist played the chords to "100 years" by Five for Fighting, a song they used to listen to when they were freshman in high school.

They can't wait to have all of their friends and family with them to celebrate the many years they have spent together and the many years to come!

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