Last Saturday Rachel and Jake after 16 months of planning finally tied the knot! They were married at the Ocean Gateway. I can not speak highly enough of Megan and her team from B Merry Events! They were amazing–everything looked great and went perfectly. The catering was done by 111 catering and it was fantastic. Lighting by The Event Lighting Pro’s and the cake by Cakes Elizabeth. The florals were done by Fleur De Lis, the DJ was DJ Jon Hawkins. I was so fortunate to be able to be a part of Rachel and Jake’s wonderful wedding day.
“Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it’s so incredible, it’s unbelievable” – Tom Landry
The ‘story of how we met’ starts in January 2012 with the AFC Divisional Playoff. New England had earned a spot for the second year in a row and Denver entered as the unlikeliest team in the Lombardi hunt. Rachel and three friends from college picked up last minute tickets to the game. By chance, another friend Mark also got two tickets to the game. To split parking costs and tailgate together, the suggestion was made to carpool as a group to the game. Mark had it covered…his buddy Jake, who was going to the game with him, could get his hands on the perfect car.
Saturday, January 14, 2012: Game Day. Our group of six piled into the borrowed Expedition and headed to Gillette Stadium. With temperatures hovering around 24- degrees, single digits with the wind chill; it was another bitterly cold New England game. Beers were drunk and shots knocked back…and soon enough, shenanigans ensued. Although the details of the night are fuzzy to most what’s not is the connection we had.
With him in Connecticut and Rachel in Boston, emails became the next ‘game’. One email a day became one email an hour became one email every five min. Then a few weeks later, we had our first ‘official’ date. Another date the week after that. Then two the week after that. And another. And another. Before a year had past, we knew one was not the same without the other. 463 days after meeting on that cold January night, we got engaged. We found in each other the love, strength, courage, and optimism that make each other whole. So incredible, it’s unbelievable.
How did he propose? On the morning of Saturday, April 20 Jake asked Rachel a question — “Would you like to take a drive?” 395 N to I-290 E … to 495 N … to US-3 … to I-293 N… to I-93 N… to NH-11 E – 2 ½ hours later they drove into Laconia, New Hampshire. As They pulled into a parking lot just off the center of town, Jake asked Rachel another question — “How about we take a walk?” Down a brick path, over a small bridge next to the old mechanics of the Belknam Mill –Jake knelt down and asked Rachel one final question— “Will you marry me?”