how we met
Lindsey and Jimmy first met as freshmen together at Bentley University in the fall of 2007. It wasn’t “love-at-first-sight”, as you may typically hear with other couples, but rather they became very close friends throughout their college years. From late-night dorm parties, to intramural soccer, to their class trip to the Bahamas, they genuinely enjoyed each other’s company.
Fast forward to the summer of 2011, after they both had graduated, Lindsey and her five girl friends got an apartment in the suburbs of Boston. Before Jimmy and his four guy friends got their apartment that fall, which just so happened to be right down the street from the girls, he lived at home in central Massachusetts. Since he was working in the city already, he had to deal with the long commute to and from the office. Because of that, he managed to crash on Lindsey’s couch for the majority of the summer, in exchange for taking care of the yard work and cooking dinner for the six girls once a week (steak tips, twice-baked potatoes, grilled corn on the cob, shepherds pie, you name it).
During this time is where the fireworks really started to fly. Lindsey was still interviewing for jobs early that summer, and Jimmy would come home from work early every day. He would always grab a bottle of riesling (they’ve since progressed to more respectable whites and reds), and since Lindsey was always home, they’d end up sharing (and finishing) the bottle of wine together on the front porch of the house. They would end up talking for hours upon end, about everything from their families to their interests to just catching each other up on their days. The conversations always seemed so natural and easy, and it was something they both always looked forward to.
Eventually, things progressed forward, and Jimmy knew there was something about Lindsey that he just couldn’t describe. The way she made him feel, “so alive” as he always put it, was something he had never experienced before. That fall, at a New England Patriots vs. New York Giants game, (Jimmy is a Pats fan, while Lindsey is a Giants fan- go figure) Jimmy officially asked Lindsey to be his girlfriend, after she had asked him likely a dozen times. They eventually moved in together in an apartment in the city.
how they asked
Being that Jimmy worked as a consultant in the city, he had always been traveling around the country for work from time to time. In the winter of 2015, he had mentioned to Lindsey that he had an upcoming training in San Francisco, CA at the end of January 2016, and had wanted to fly her out for the weekend. They had been to San Francisco once before for a cousin’s wedding, and fell in love with Napa Valley and its varieties of wines (again, many others besides riesling). Lindsey was so excited to be able to visit Napa Valley again, so of course she agreed to come. Little did she know there was no actual training, and this was the beginning of a weekend she would remember for the rest of her life.
That Saturday morning, Jimmy woke Lindsey up before sunrise, and mentioned he had a surprise for her. As it turned out, he had planned a hot air balloon ride for them that morning, something which they both had always wanted to do. Upon arrival to the launch site, they were grouped into a balloon with five other couples. Another couple had reserved a separate private balloon ride that morning, and Lindsey couldn’t control her excitement over the possibility of that other couple being engaged. Of course, she was right, and the other girl ended up with a ring on her finger when they landed. Lindsey called her mom afterwards to tell her about the hot air balloon ride, and other couple’s engagement, to which her mom jokingly replied “Another missed opportunity Jimbo!” (which didn’t bother him at all, since he had other plans all along).
The day continued with Lindsey and Jimmy visiting winery after winery, sampling some of the finest wines Napa Valley had to offer. After a full day of site-seeing and wine-sampling, they were on their way back to San Francisco when Jimmy mentioned he had one last stop for them along the Pacific coast. They pulled up to Muir Beach Overlook and walked down to the landing at the end of the trail. It was such a picturesque scene, with the waves crashing against the shoreline as far as the eye could see.
Jimmy had Lindsey face away from him and look out over the horizon so he could get her picture, or so she thought…
When she turned back around, there he was down on one knee.
She couldn’t believe what was happening, or contain her excitement for that matter. After a little speech of how much she meant to him, Jimmy officially asked Lindsey to marry him, to which she said yes.
That moment felt like a blur to them, of which neither can remember every little detail due to all of the emotions taking place. Luckily, the entire moment was being captured on camera without Lindsey knowing, which can now be remembered by both of them for the rest of their lives together.
