Jesse and Paulina: A Family

There are people we meet in life that change us. People who shape who we are, where we are going, how we see the world. These people come at different times, in unexpected ways or forms. Some stay briefly; change us irrevocably, then pass through with nothing but the now altered version of us remaining. Some stay so long they become a part of us, never to be severed. They come as friends, teachers, mentors. Some come as reminders of who we never wish to be, and some come as lovers who teach us that we are far better together than we are alone. Some make us forget about everything that came before them.

For Paulina, the boy who lived down the street ended up being one of those people. Her lifelong friend who, by chance played on her rec league basketball team and was her first kiss during a game of middle school Truth or Dare. For Jesse, it would be the girl on the bike he followed home at the age of 7 the first time he saw her cruise down Shore Drive. The girl who became the best friend he could tell anything to no matter how much time passed, or physical distances grew.

First kiss and an incredible friendship aside, it would not be until much later in life that these two equally free-spirited souls would become something vital to one another. It accelerates in 2016 when Paulina’s mom, Patty, suggests the two outdoor advocates go kayaking together while Paulina is on break from college and like all great stories of love, this one truly begins.

For Paulina, it would happen over many trips with him around Shore Drive on foot, skateboard, or by bike. It would happen over a little blonde headed two-year old boy with a beautiful smile in a stroller who couldn’t quite say her name yet. Over many moments spent laughing and talking and realizing that she felt more settled when he was near her then when he wasn’t. It would become clear to her later after he runs from his home to a local bar during a storm to hang out with her and her friends. Even more clear after he asks her to go for a bite to eat at Stan and Joes and kisses her on purpose this time.

For Jesse, who has always had the ability to see things for what they are and with clarity many would envy, it would develop similarly. For him, it would happen as she fell in love with his son Carson the moment she met him. How he watched her treat him as her own. It would be the way he could tell her anything and how much when he is with her, he “knows everything is going to be okay”. It would happen every time he looked at her and Carson together and felt in his soul, a family.

They would go through the years with the kind of grace that makes it look effortless, though those of us who have loved another know a relationship never is. And yet, Jesse and Paulina make it seem so. Their love and friendship supporting them through Paulina living out of state while she finished nursing school and returned home. Supporting one another through Jesse’s apprenticeship and succession as a Journeyman in the Electrical Union all while being an incredible father to his son. Through their absolute dedication and adoration of the most important piece of what makes them a family, Carson.

Those of us who have seen it from the beginning see how blessed they are to have found one another. How they are best friends and confidants, two very sweet and kind peas in a pod. We see what they see. Soulmates. And so, we ask with all the love and excitement in the world that you join us as we celebrate the union of Jesse and Paulina, in the place they love so much, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, on the 16th of September, 2025.