HOW THEY MET
Grace and Sean were introduced in the fall of 2015 at a tailgate in college by a mutual friend. It was Grace’s freshman year and Sean’s junior year. After that, anytime Grace and Sean would be in the same places she’d have one of her friends come over and introduce her to me. It got to a point where Sean said “I know her, her name is Grace.” Taking a hint is clearly not my strong suit. - Sean and Grace continued two more years of college and running into each other and flirting anytime they saw each other, but Sean was a bit slow on asking Grace out, lol. They didn't go on their first date until after Grace's sophomore year, after Sean had graduated.
THEIR FIRST DATE
They went to Raymond’s in Montclair during the summer after Sean graduated. Grace picked Raymond’s because it was “halfway between their parent’s houses,” but it ended up being 45 minutes away for both of them (they only lived 40 minutes apart at the time.) Grace was so nervous she ordered a salad and just pushed lettuce around her plate for about an hour .
Sean and Grace went on their first date and a few other dates that summer, including a double date with the couple that introduced them (they are still close with them to this day)! When Grace went back to school in the Fall, Sean was working in Charlotte, for training for his new job. With that, he had two flights his work would pay for to go "home" during the training period - he used both of them to come to visit Grace at JMU! That year during her winter break, they hung out in NJ a lot, but Grace was studying abroad in Florence that spring. A few days before she left for Florence, Sean took her on a date to NYC, and Grace knew that day he could definitely be the one. She left for Florence, and even with the time change Sean, and Grace managed to talk every day and FaceTime a few times per week. He even had flowers and a stuffed animal delivered to her in Italy on Valentine's day that year - so cute!!
Some of the things that Sean and Grace enjoy doing together the most are: going down the shore to Mantoloking, going for walks, hanging out with Grace’s niece and nephew, and watching true crime documentaries.
THE PROPOSAL
On the beach in Mantoloking where they spend a lot of their weekends in the summer. Grace would say it was a big surprise but Sean’s pants were too tight so Grace could see the ring box in his pants when they got into the car to drive to the beach. They were in Mantoloking the week before Memorial Day Weekend getting the house ready for the summer. It was Saturday night and Sean said "I made us brunch reservations for tomorrow" - which was super random since they had so much to do the next day. When Grace asked him "how committed are you to these brunch plans?" suggesting that he should cancel, and he said, "very" - Grace sort of had a feeling. Then he came downstairs in tight pants and a ring box in his pocket, she knew, she ran back upstairs for some lipstick! He did it on the beach in Mantoloking and had their families waiting at brunch to surprise her after. The reason they decided to have the wedding down the shore is because they were on Point Pleasant Beach when they said "I love you" for the first time, they spend a lot of their time down here and for the finale, he popped the question there!
I love that they wanted their engagement session done down in Mantoloking! Grace and Sean, Jeff and I cannot wait to celebrate your beautiful wedding day alongside of you and the families!!
