Emily: We met in February 2013, while enjoying the nightlife (at a bar) in Arlington, VA. We were introduced by a friend while watching some playoff football. After talking for a while, Tom walked me home, and we have been together ever since.

Tom: Emily and I first met at a local bar in Arlington.  We were both there watching playoff football when her friend introduced us.  We talked had a few drinks and had an amazing time.  She asked for my number and the rest is history!

Emily: I knew Tom was special the day I met him, mainly because I typically do not talk to strangers and I couldn’t stop talking with him. I knew he was the one when I started talking about moving home to Boston and he said was onboard without hesitation.

Tom: I knew Emily was special from the moment I met her. She was beautiful, caring and could make me laugh.  As we spent more time together and got to know each other better, I found myself not being able to imagine a life without her in it.

Emily: Tom proposed on December 18th, 2015 in out apartment in South Boston. I came home from work and opened the door to our entire living room covered in rose petals and tea light candles. He was standing in the middle and got down on one knee and proposed. I obviously said yes, and then we popped champagne and he took us out for a night in the city. We went ice skating on the common, had dinner at the Top of the Hub and spent the night at the Ritz Carlton. The next day we celebrated at my family’s annual Christmas party with everyone. I didn’t see it coming at all; it was awesome.

Tom: While living together in Virginia I decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Emily and I knew the first step to that would be to move her back home to Boston.  After we finally made the move I started looking for rings and thinking about how to propose.  I finally settled on the ring and got her parents blessing.  I planned out a special evening for us but because Emily is so good at sniffing out surprises, I decided to begin the evening with the proposal instead of ending with it.  I decorated our apartment with candles, roses and pictures of some of our favorite memories.  I told her how much I loved her, how I couldn’t imagine a life without her and asked her to marry me… and she said yes!  After that we went to check into our hotel at Ritz Carlton, went to dinner at Top of the Hub and went ice skating at the Boston Common Frog Pond.  It was one of the most unforgettable nights of my life.

Emily: Tom always knows how to put a smile on my face, no matter what. He understands me and supports me.

Tom:  Choosing just one of the things that I love about Emily is extremely hard for me. But she is the most caring person that I’ve ever met in my life.  She never fails to amaze me with how much she is willing to do for her friends, her family, and for us. This alone is absolutely one of the reasons why I love Emily so much.

Emily: Tom collects swords and various other medieval-type weapons. They currently reside in our basement.

Tom: Emily still to this day has to get her face painted whenever she goes to a fair.  She’ll pretend like she might not for an hour or so but eventually she “caves” and gets a nice big colorful dragon painted (ask me for pictures).

Emily: I’m excited to read my vows to Tom. We wrote our own and I can’t wait to tell Tom how I feel and my promises for the future.

Tom: I look forward to that moment after seeing my gorgeous bride in her wedding dress, after making our vows to each other, after having our first dance, after having an amazing time with our friends and family, when we look into each other’s eyes and smile knowing that we have an incredible life ahead just waiting for us.

We really like a simple color palette – a lot of whites, creams, blush tones mixed in with natural greenery and silver accents. The guys wore dark navy suits which complemented the girl’s light, blush dresses nicely. We were interested in a simple, elegant, but still beachy theme.

Check things off your to do list and get things done as soon as possible, even if your date still seems far out. Before you know it, it will be 3 weeks before your wedding and you will be rush ordering last minute details from Etsy!