How We Met| The Engagment Story | The Love Mix | About Us

It all started at Walmart. He, in a white photo lab coat, walked up to her, a redhead in a bright blue smock. He timidly asked her to a movie - XXX with Vin Diesel. They went to the theater. Their pinkies touched. He presented her with a copy of Sublime. And the rest is history.

On Sunday, June 22, 2008, Geoff surprised me with an amazing night on the town. I thought he was just taking me out to give me a chance to wear a pretty dress I had recently purchased, but he had much more planned than that. Our first stop was Toscano, a gorgeous Tuscan restaurant on Charles Street. We started our dinner with wine and bruschetta, followed by delicious Gnocchi Quatro Formaggio and Rigatoni Toscano. We finished off our meal by sharing a rich slice of flourless chocolate cake. Yum!

After dinner we made our way to Club Passim in Harvard Square where one of our favorite bands, Lake Street Dive, was playing. The show opened with Cuddle Magic, a very cool band that plays every instrument you could ever imagine, including a child's play piano and your basic soup pot. Throughout their set Geoff kept commenting on how warm it was in the club and how many people were there.

Lake Street Dive came on and did an amazing set as usual. Their next-to-last song of the evening was a cover of "This Magic Moment." During an instrumental part of the song, Rachel, the lead singer, said that she wanted to recognize a couple in the audience who had been great supporters of the band. She told how the band likes to think that they've had a positive impact on the couple's love because their music has been included on one of the annual love mixes that the male of the couple makes every year. Of course, the couple she spoke of was Geoff and I. She asked us to stand up in front of everyone. After a few claps, I went to sit back down and heard Geoff say "no, no" as Rachel said, "Geoff has something to ask you." It truly was a magical moment. Geoff got down on one knee right there in the middle of Club Passim and asked me to marry him. He said, "I can't imagine spending the rest of my life without you. I've loved you since our pinkies met. Will you marry me?" I was shocked and amazed and barely heard the cheers from the audience around us. Of course I said yes! Or rather, smiled and nodded in that goofy-happy way because I was way too excited to speak. I held back tears and didn't hear the encore that Lake Street performed because I was too distracted by the wonderful gift that Geoff had just given me. Amazing.

The ring he chose is perfect. Three round stones, hearts in the setting, an engraving that simply says "Miami." He chose so well. I love it.

I thought that was the end of the evening and that we would be heading home to bask in our new status as a couple engaged to be married, but Geoff had more up his sleeve. After thanking Rachel, Mike, Mike, and Bridget for their role in surprising me, he told me that I had the next day off from work. He had called my boss, Jacqueline, the week before to let her know that I wouldn't be in on Monday so that we could spend the night in Boston. He had encouraged me to go running Sunday morning so that he could take time to pack an overnight bag and put it in the trunk without me noticing. He even bought travel-sized toiletries so I wouldn't notice anything missing. He's so sly.

The place where we stayed was amazing - a bed and breakfast in a historical building in the South End called Clarendon Square. We entered the gorgeous building and climbed the stairs to our room. I loved that the bathroom had a red, heating light and a bathtub with jets, and I enjoyed trying out the cozy bathrobes that were there. I thought we'd spend the night in the beautiful room and that would be the end of the surprises, but Geoff had just one more. He pulled out our bathing suits, we changed, and then he walked me up to the roof of the building. My breath was taken away as I climbed out onto the roof and was suddenly surrounded by the lights of Boston. The Prudential Center stood nearby as our eyes adjusted and I saw that there was a hot tub up there. With champagne in hand, we sank into the hot tub and toasted each other as the city lights shone around us. A few stars even poked through the cloudy sky. In telling the story later, I described the whole experience as "movie romantic" because it truly was. I never imagined that I would be given such an amazingly romantic night. It's definitely something I will never forget - my very own magic moment to cherish forever.

On each anniversary of our first date, Geoff has presented me with a CD of love songs. Each CD contains a sampling of sweet songs, most from independent artists (reflecting Geoff's days as a college and online DJ). In addition to the unique love songs, each CD has its own unique cover and CD design. It's wonderful to see how Geoff's musical tastes and design skills have evolved over the years as he expresses his love for me. These are some of my most prized posessions. I hope to one day have a whole shelf of Love MIxes. I wonder if, after the wedding, I'll start to get them on our new anniversary, or if I'll continue to receive them on August 10th (the anniversary of our first date).

We've been together for almost seven years and are very excited to enter this next stage of our life together. Currently, we live in Waltham, MA. Geoff is a graphic designer for EH Publishing in Framingham, MA, designing marketing and trade show materials for multiple expos. Amy works as an Associate Editor at Jones & Bartlett Publishers, editing textbooks that focus on Health, Nutrition, and Sports Management.