Mason and I met just before he moved to Ireland for a year, on a scholarship to earn his master’s degree. We were set up by our best friends (who are now married) to be each other’s date to a wedding. We hit it off that night. I was apprehensive because I knew he’d be leaving the country in three short weeks. But, we stayed up all night talking and never stopped. Three weeks later, I remember tracking his flight across the Atlantic Ocean and feeling like my heart went with him.

Mason and I communicated via WhatsApp (lol) day and night despite a five-hour time difference. At one point in his year abroad, I navigated international travel in a pandemic. Being respectful of COVID, once in Ireland, we spent time, just the two of us, exploring the countryside. We found a little spot along the coast to call ours. We sat on the rocks for hours talking and looking out over the ocean.

Fast forward to the end of his year in Ireland. We planned a trip to go explore all of our favorite places once again, but this time flying across the ocean together. We had an amazing trip. We actually stayed at an Irish bed and breakfast that looked out over our little spot on the coast between Galway and Salthill. On our last day on the coast, Mason created a day just for us – we explored an abandoned castle I had been wanting to see, and we went to the most beautiful church. Before dinner, he asked me to take a walk on the coast. We walked to our spot, between Galway and Salthill, and looked up to see a complete rainbow. There, he asked me to marry him.

Photos