How We Met
Blaise and I technically met when we were 14 during freshman year of high school, but it wasn’t until sophomore year that we really starting talking to each other. We were together in almost half of our class periods, and with last names that were so close alphabetically, we were thrown together pretty frequently. It didn’t take long for me to notice this cute guy with a lazy smile, awkwardly adorable sense of humor, and an ability to effortlessly make my day better in an instant.
Gradually, we grew as close friends until eventually, on December 22nd, 2010, he asked me as romantically as any 16-year-old boy would: “I’m single, you’re single, wanna not be single together?” 3 high school dances, about 6 driving tests (between the two of us), hundreds of dinner/movie dates, and a graduation later, we were still together and going strong.
The next year, we moved 3 hours away and started our freshman year at Penn State together (and yes, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t taken into account where Blaise would be going to school when I made my own decision). Suddenly though, he wasn’t just my boyfriend anymore. He quickly became my home away from home, my sense of security, and my biggest support when things got tough. Blaise had become my other half. We spent the rest of our college years together, doing our best to help each other navigate the many challenges of becoming adults. Over all those years, I never stopped thinking to myself “I can’t believe I’ve literally gotten to grow up with the man of my dreams.”
During our last semester at PSU, Blaise and I experienced long distance for the first time, as he was living in Los Angeles where he had an internship. Those months were so difficult for us, but when he finally came home for graduation, I felt completely sure about what I’d really known for years: This was the man I wanted to marry. We’d already been part of each other’s families for years and years, all that was left was for Blaise to make it official!
how they asked
The morning of our engagement, my mom and I were actually in Philadelphia for a fitting for my bridesmaid dress for one of my best friend’s wedding. It was a perfect morning: coffee, quality time with my mom, and being fitted for the dress I’d wear on the best day of my friend’s life! When the fitting was over, we got in the car to head back to my parents’ house and it dawned on me that we hadn’t eaten all day yet. I asked my mom a few different times if she wanted to stop somewhere to grab a bite to eat, but she kept making up excuses to just go back to the house. I was slightly annoyed (I was so hungry!!), but didn’t think anything of it. The only thing that felt strange to me was that I hadn’t heard from Blaise all day, and he’d been very distant for the few days prior. I even told my mom in the dress boutique, “Blaise is really annoying me! I’ve been asking him for days what he wants to do this weekend, and he won’t commit to a plan. He’s barely answering me!” She even played along, and agreed that he was acting rude!
Finally after over an hour of sitting in traffic, we made it home. There were no cars in the driveway, so I had no reason to believe anything was happening. When I opened the door to the house, my heart practically stopped. There were gorgeous, multicolored rose petals creating a pathway through the house, and pictures of Blaise and I from the last ~7 years hanging everywhere. My favorite song in the whole world, Yellow by Coldplay was playing. There was no mistake; I knew what was happening. I looked at my mom as tears welled up in my eyes, and then began following the path of rose petals. Eventually, I reached the living room where the rose petal path was arranged into the shape of a heart with Blaise standing in the middle. He was holding a beautiful bouquet of pink roses, and was visibly shaking.
I approached him, wanting nothing more than to give him the world’s longest and tightest hug, but before I could make a single move, he dropped to one knee. As the tears streamed down my face, Blaise looked at me and said “You’re my best friend, and I love you so much. You know I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time now, so…Molly, will you marry me?” I stopped crying long enough to say yes, and as we stood there hugging and shaking, my dad and our two friends came out from hiding. Blaise’s two incredible friends (who I am lucky to call my own friends too) had traveled all the way to our house to help him plan the most beautiful proposal I could’ve imagined. After I regained the ability to speak, we all hugged, laughed, and toasted with champagne. Eventually it dawned on me that with all the emotion, I had not yet even glanced at the beautiful thing he had slid onto my finger. Once I did, the tears came right back as I looked at the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. I had never been so happy in my entire life, and all I could do was look at Blaise and think to myself: “I can’t believe I am going to MARRY the boy who I used to pass notes to in sophomore year Spanish class…” BEST. DAY. EVER.
