Engaged 2018 | Page 21

MEGAN and NATE EAST COAST CAPTURE

THEIR MEET-CUTE : Like most couples nowadays , Dan and Mark met online . But no , it wasn ’ t through a dating app or website . “ We had many mutual friends on Facebook , and when I saw Mark I knew I had to friend him

Nicole

,” Dan says . The two spent months

Noah texting before finally meeting up in person , and from there they embarked on a seven-year relationship before getting engaged .

THEIR PROPOSAL STORY : While Dan may have been the one to make the first move , Mark was the one who sealed the deal on May 13 , 2017 . The initial plan involved proposing in June — the month in which they first met — but long term secret-keeping is not quite Mark ’ s forte . He did , however , still manage to pull off the surprise . “ He had told me that his sister was in Providence for a work conference and that we were going to meet up with her at her hotel room . But when we got there , we opened the door to a room filled with balloons and flowers ,” Dan recalls . “ I was completely shocked , I didn ’ t believe him at first .” When Dan finally came around to the fact that yes , Mark was actually proposing , the two followed through on their prearranged dinner plans with the entire family for Dan ’ s father ’ s birthday — with even more reason to celebrate !

THEIR WEDDING PLANS : Dan and Mark plan to wed on October 20 , 2018 at the Publick House in Sturbridge , Massachusetts . “ We knew we wanted a fall wedding and we only looked at one venue — it was love at first sight . Plus , it provides the catering and cake !” And while they do have more details to work out , they made sure to nail down the music portion early by booking Legacy String Trio for the ceremony and Music Machine Entertainment for the reception . “ I ’ m most looking forward to tearing up the dance floor !” Dan says . “ We ’ re so excited to just be married and celebrate .”

“ I ’ m so glad we did a session because it gave us a sense of our photographers ’ personalities , their style , how they work , and for how the wedding day is going to go . Now I know they ’ ll do an amazing job !” – Megan

THEIR MEET-CUTE : While her fellow eighth grade classmates all fawned over the new guy in town , Megan didn ’ t “ get it .” Instead , she just became best friends with Nate ’ s sister , Britt . And despite spending plenty of time in the same house over the years , Megan never bought into the whole “ secretly crushing on your friend ’ s sibling ” cliché , either . In fact , they avoided the high school sweetheart moniker all together — not really connecting until they ran into one another at a party , post-graduation . “ I never would have thought we ’ d end up together , but now we ’ re going on nine years !” Megan says .

THEIR PROPOSAL STORY : Fast forward to Christmas morning 2016 . Nate had hidden the ring — a stunning lab-created diamond from Brilliant Earth in Boston that Britt helped pick out — at the bottom of Megan ’ s stocking . “ We ’ d been together a long time so I knew it was coming eventually ,” Megan says . “ But you ’ re never really prepared for when it happens . As soon as he got down on one knee I started crying and said , ‘ Is this for real ?’”

THEIR WEDDING PLANS : The two will wed on June 2 , 2018 at the Towers in Narragansett . As for what Megan is looking forward to most : “ Just everything . I ’ ll probably be crying the whole time because I ’ m an emotional person — I ’ ve been waiting for this day for forever and it ’ s finally happening ! Plus , our families have known each other for a long time and I know they ’ ll be emotional too ... I just know it ’ s going to be such an amazing day filled with love and happiness .”

DAN and MARK MEL COLVIN PHOTOGRAPHY

“ The engagement session is a great time to prepare yourself for the constant photos you ’ ll be taking on your wedding day . Mark is not a huge fan of getting his picture taken , but by the end of our session he felt completely comfortable .” – Dan

RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY ' S ENGAGED 2018 | 19