Paul and I first met in college in the summer of 2003; he was going into his fourth year, me into my second. Our personalities seemed to match so well and we clicked immediately. We found it so easy to talk together and to make each other laugh. Soon after that, we decided that we should make it official and began dating exclusively. The rest is history!

I knew that I had someone special when I began to question how serious we had gotten. I told him "maybe it's not smart to get so serious so young." He replied "I just think we're really lucky to have found each other so soon." It was then that I knew he was the one. Luckily for me, he felt the same way. We moved into an apartment in Brighton together in the spring of 2005. The apartment saw us through both Paul and my college graduations, and the addition of a very special member to our 'family,' our cat Chester. Then, in the spring of 2007, we made the move to Chili in order for me to be closer to the University of Buffalo where I would go to graduate school. Paul had a very good job as an Assistant Circuit Design Engineer at Current Communications in Henrietta, and so we didn't want to be too far awey from that area. Though the commute for me was costly, it was time that I enjoyed (as many people know).

Paul and I started talking about getting married in 2006. In 2007, Paul took me shopping for engagement rings. By the end of 2008, I was getting antsy. I knew that the time would come when it was right, but I knew that I wanted to start the rest of my life with him. Lucky for me, Paul proposed on Christmas Eve, 2007, as I arrived from work at his parents house for a family holiday party. He met me in the driveway, which struck me as somewhat unusual. As we walked toward the house, Paul ran ahead of me and reached behind a giant board leaning against the garage. Suddenly, the board lit up with Christmas lights stretched in what seemed to be a written message. "What does it say?," I asked. The writing was too small and jumbled to make out anything legible. After insisting that I try to get it on my own, I took a few paces back, put my hands on my knees and squinted. After making a few wrong guesses, I insisted that Paul tell me. "It says 'Will You Marry Me?'." He got down on one knee and opened a box containing the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. I started crying and we held each other, smiling. After we gathered ourselves, we started to move toward the door. Suddenly, I realized that Barb, Paul's mom, was peeking out at us from inside the house. "Let's just drive somewhere," I begged him. And so we hopped in the car and took a five minute drive, just the two of us. I needed that time just to enjoy our moment alone. Of course, after that, we headed inside to greet his family and share the news. I sent a picture of my new ring over the phone to my family at home (I couldn't wait to tell them the news!). That's our story!

Since then I have graduated from graduate school with my Ed.M. in School Counseling and am currently employed by Unity Health as a chemical dependency outreach counselor working out of Churchville-Chili high school. Paul is still employed at Current Communications and thoroughly enjoys his job. Our plans for the coming years include our wedding this summer (of course!), and buying our first home together, the location of which will depend upon where I get a job.

So that's our story! Thanks to everyone for visiting, and we can't wait to enjoy our special day with you!