How We Met
Liam and I first met at the beginning of our freshman year at Portsmouth Abbey, a small Catholic boarding school in Rhode Island.
Throughout our freshman and sophomore year, we were nothing more than friendly acquaintances who might bump into eachother around campus, or take a class together such as humanities, which believe it or not, was taught by Liam’s father, Mr. O’Connor. Throughout our junior year, our friendship began to grow quickly, and in January, after attending the winter formal together, we began dating.
Over the past 10 years, Liam and I have shared what feels like a lifetime of memories, such as proms and graduations, a long distance relationship, a move to Boston, and much more. When I reflect back on our time together, it was at sixteen years old on the Portsmouth Abbey campus where I knew for certain that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with my highschool sweetheart.
How They Asked
Liam made a dinner reservation in the North End a few weeks in advance so we could have a romantic date night on the calendar to look forward to. When Friday, September 25th finally rolled around, I was so excited to dress up and spend the evening with him. We took a leisurely stroll at sunset from our apartment in Charlestown, through the North End, and into Paul Revere Mall, a park that I frequently love to visit.
Standing in between the Old North Church and the Paul Revere statue, Liam stopped me and told me to look up at the windows of the adjacent building. He explained that you can see the reflection of the statue in the window when the lighting is just right, while he stepped behind me to get into position. As I turned back around towards him with confusion because I couldn’t see the reflection he was referring to, I found him down on one knee.
As he kneeled there smiling up at me, I was shocked and speechless. “It’s not every day you get to ask your highschool sweetheart to marry you,” said Liam. Tears started to flow from my eyes, and before he could officially “pop the question” I said “Yes!” without hesitation. We hugged, laughed, and cried while people passing by clapped and congratulated us on our engagement.
If that wasn’t surprise enough, after a moment to compose me, we were approached by Sarah and Peter, a lovely husband and wife team Liam hired to capture the moment. They coached us through a short photoshoot around the North End, where both Liam and I couldn’t stop laughing and smiling.
After a romantic and private dinner at Mamma Maria, our favorite restaurant in the North End, we walked hand-in-hand back home to Charlestown. I was itching to call my family and friends to tell them the news, but Liam encouraged me to stay in the moment, assuring me there would be plenty of time when we got home to tell everyone the news. As we walked up the stairs towards our apartment door, he said “Don’t freak out, but I have one more surprise for you,” before opening the door to a room full of our closest friends!
2020 has been an eventful year, to say the least, but the best part about it is that I said YES to making a lifetime of memories with my highschool sweetheart.
