Once in a Lifetime

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Once in a Lifetime

How we Happ'nd

When Andrew swiped-right on the dating app Happn and matched with Jacquelyn-Kate, he felt there was a strong possibility she wasn't real. Andrew went so far as to reverse-image search all of Jacquelyn-Kate’s dating photos, but the results were inconclusive on this potential 'catfish'. As skeptical as he was of her minimal text messages to him and phone number that ended in zero’s, Andrew planned their first date on Monday, May 11th, 2015 at Wink & Nod, a cocktail bar in Boston’s South End.

Per her usual form, Jacquelyn-Kate arrived 10 minutes late, and Andrew realized she was very much a real person. The connection was instant, and conversation quickly turned to family, friends, and their mutual love of traveling the world. 4 hours later they shared their magical first kiss next to a Toyota Prius Uber when Andrew dropped Jacquelyn-Kate off at home :)

The very next day was Andrew's birthday, for which he had another first date planned, with another girl! After meeting Jacquelyn-Kate the night before, Andrew couldn't imagine spending his birthday with anyone else, so he cancelled his previous plans, and asked Jacquelyn-Kate on their second date. It was there at Uni, now their favorite restaurant, that Andrew knew he was in love. On their third date, Andrew told Jacquelyn-Kate he was going to marry her, writing ‘Jacquelyn-Kate Mann’ on a cocktail napkin to make it official!

The next 2 weeks were a whirlwind romance where they met for 5 incredible dates, after which Andrew found out he was leaving Boston permanently for work. Since Jacquelyn-Kate couldn't imagine life without this tall, dark, handsome, incredibly charming and intelligent Mann, thus began a relationship that revolved around travel; traveling those summer weekends between New York, Chicago and Boston out of necessity to see each other, falling more and more in love.

Falling in Love

A Whirlwind Romance

The summer flew by and many airline points were accumulated as they traveled between Colorado, Chicago, New York and Boston. By September 2015, Andrew had made the big move cross-country from Chicago in a white church van with two of his best friends Sam Salk and Andrew Morris. That first apartment in Boston on Beacon Street ended up being a glorified (and expensive) storage unit, as just 3 short months later, Andrew and Jacquelyn-Kate decided to move in together, finding a new place, and were unpacking boxes with Misto, his newly-adopted chihuahua.

With their one-year anniversary approaching, Jacquelyn-Kate and Andrew had already explored Tuscany, Paris, Athens, Santorini, Amsterdam, and the Bahamas together. So to celebrate the occasion, they embarked again for Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan, where their mutual love of wandering the world grew stronger. Another summer came and went, but Andrew had something special up his sleeve before they took-off again for the Loire Valley and Amalfi Coast that September, 7th, 2016...

Our Adventures

He Proposed...

Wednesday, September 7th, 2016

When Andrew asked Jacquelyn-Kate to meet him at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for a cocktail party, she told him it was a really bad idea since they were leaving for Europe the next day, with no bags packed yet. But since it is their favorite place to spend time in Boston, and the site of several memorable dates, he insisted they visit one last time before the summer ended.

Andrew had a late meeting, so Jacquelyn-Kate met him at the museum, where he was already saving seats inside... Yet when Jacquelyn-Kate walked in, there was no gallery opening, no seats being saved, no event, and no other people mingling about. Andrew had privatized the entire museum for this moment, the most important moment of their lives.

After walking through a hallway laden with candles, their favorite songs playing softly in the background, Jacquelyn-Kate turned the corner to find Andrew standing in the middle of the most stunning courtyard, surrounded by fragrant purple and white flowers, amidst all of their favorite artwork, something out of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Despite looking so handsome in his three-piece pinstripe suit, Jacquelyn-Kate whispered he needed to get out of the courtyard, as it is always 100% off-limits to everyone and they would get in trouble! But instead, he asked her to join him right in the middle, and like always, Andrew made Jacquelyn-Kate's dreams come true. Before she knew it, Andrew was on bended knee, asking Jacquelyn-Kate to marry him...

She Said Yes!!!

Of course She Said Yes :)

Those first few moments of their engagement were precious, walking through the courtyard and the museum halls, admiring the art of the past and toasting champagne flutes to their future. In the very same place they shared one of their first dates, Andrew read Jacquelyn-Kate his love letters on the custom-printed programs he designed and silk cards he penned. The celebration continued with dinner at Uni Sashimi bar, the site of their second date, but not before sharing the news with their overjoyed parents!

The next morning, she finally packed their bags, and the 10 days to follow were spent celebrating along the Loire Valley and Amalfi Coast with their other loves: wine, boats, chateaux and pasta.