OUR STORY
Where it
all began.
On August 5, 2020, the summer before our senior year of high school, we met for the first time, and the course of our lives were forever altered.
Because of the pandemic, Cole had been in Oregon working while our friends began spending weekends hanging out. One night, when Bridget had everyone over at her house, it just so happened to be Cole’s first night back. We had all met each other before, except for us two.
Somehow, after three years at the same school, we had never noticed each other before. Not long after that night, and after not so smoothly asking our friends about the other, we started spending more time together. It was an instant connection; it did not take long for us to fall for one another.
The irony is that we had always been closer to crossing paths than we realized. Our yearbook photos were touching year after year, we were regularly in the same standardized testing rooms, and at graduation, alphabetically, we ended up sitting beside one another. We had spent four years at the same school and somehow didn't meet until the very last one.
Maybe that was exactly how it was supposed to happen. There is something special about knowing we were in the same place for so long but found each other when we did. That first night, 17 years old, in Bridget’s family backyard, was the beginning of everything that came after.
Six years later, we have grown up, explored different corners of the world, and have continued to love one another more with each and every step along the way.
What started so young has only become stronger with time, and somehow, we still feel like we are just getting started.
“Finding each other may have been fate...
But staying, growing, and choosing each other, that was us.”
A FAMILIAR PLACE & A MOMENT TO REMEMBER
And then,
forever.
On May 23, 2026, what Bridget thought was an unnecessarily complicated day in Seascape turned out to be something Cole had been carefully planning for months.
The week before, Cole had casually explained the itinerary: a long morning beach walk to coffee, lunch in Capitola, a winery after that, and then, somehow, a fully dressed picnic on the beach before heading straight to dinner. Bridget immediately questioned why anyone would get ready for a nice meal only to go sit in the sand first. Cole did his best to argue the plan was completely reasonable. Bridget was suspicious, but ultimately convinced herself she was overthinking it.
The day of, we ended up going on a long walk to coffee that took us down what may have been the least pedestrian-friendly route in Seascape; a busy road with no sidewalk. Later, while getting ready for dinner, music was playing and when Bridget asked Cole for a song request, he chose Chris Stapleton’s, 'It Takes A Woman'. For him, it was the perfect precursor for the big moment. For her, it was just another song playing in the background. Looking back, knowing what was about to happen makes the memory a little sweeter.
Before dinner, we grabbed a bottle of champagne and headed down to the beach for the suspicious picnic. Cole picked a spot farther from the water than Bridget expected and asked for help laying out the blanket. Once everything was set down, he pulled out a small black velvet box, got onto one knee, and somehow managed to open it through the nerves.
Cole told Bridget how much she meant to him, that he couldn’t imagine life without her in it, and that he wanted to be next to her each and every day. Then he asked her to marry him.
Bridget’s answer was, “Nothing would make me happier.”
NOW
First, we
celebrate.
Before wedding plans take shape, we’re gathering the people we love for our engagement party on October 31, 2026 — back in the backyard where we first met.
ENGAGEMENT PARTY