Decade of Love: How I Met My Other

So, I heard you got engaged…

I think Brandon and I heard that about 300 times within 48 hours after we shared the news that we were engaged. It is a wonderfully exciting time for both of us and we are so excited to share our love story along with the trials and tribulations of planning our wedding over the next year and a half.

A little about us as individuals:

Brandon is an electrical engineer based out of Sparks. He grew up in Towson and went to Calvert Hall (because good Baltimore people really only care about our high schools) for high school then on to Salisbury and Morgan State. Always level headed and thoughtful, he is my voice of reason. He is one of the hardest working people I know and encourages me to be the best version of myself. He loves mountain biking and boating in the summers and snowboarding in the winter. He is an amazing problem solver, handy man and the best French toast maker I have ever met.

I (Jennifer) am the Director of Annual Giving for Saint Agnes Hospital. I grew up in Columbia went to Mount de Sales Academy and Salisbury University for undergrad. I have a great love for my family, my dog and my horse. My parents currently live overseas so I have really been bitten by the travel bug over the past year and enjoying the opportunities to visit new countries. Unlike Brandon, I am not a handyman but am very good at supervising our decorating and home renovation projects. I make a pretty good Sangria and oreo cookie brownies (those recipes will come later).

Our story as a couple really began ten years ago at Salisbury University where we met. I was a freshman and he was a cool older fraternity guy. We stayed friends over my next three years of college and starting dating my senior year. We didn’t have a crazy courtship – no crying in the rain or huge gestures – just two people that truly enjoyed being with one another both in love and as best friends.

After college graduation we did what any good young professional does – we moved to the city and began our careers. We’ve lived in Canton for the past five years and have loved every minute of it. We grew up, changed jobs, changed companies, bought our first house – all while both growing as individuals and together as a couple. Six years and many life lessons later we were engaged on January 3, 2015.

As we begin our journey as a couple heading towards the aisle, we look forward to sharing all of our experiences both exciting and challenging. As “easy” as it may sound, our first duties as an engaged couple was to announce the great news to our friends and families. I never thought this would cause me so much anxiety but it really did! We were engaged in Rome at Piazza del Popolo while visiting my parents. Stealthily my brother and Dad were in on the engagement planning – leaving me surprised and my Mom over the moon with joy! A lovely Italian man was able to snap a couple photos of us right after Brandon proposed – I wish my broken Italian was better so I could have thanked him more! Grazi millie Signore!

After celebrating with my family, over a bottle of good Italian wine, we made the decision to keep our engagement quiet for the rest of the week we were on vacation until we could share the news with Brandon’s parents in person. (Full disclosure – I did face time my best girlfriend – I think it was 7am on Saturday morning her time – I’m sure she was thrilled to wake up that early – but I just couldn’t hold that in!) When we came home we met Brandon’s family and made the announcement which consisted of me awkwardly covering my hand and then embracing lots of screaming and hugs. We then began to call our close friends to let them know the great news – my friends are pretty in the know since almost all of them had the same answer of “I knew you were going to get engaged!” I guess everyone was in on a big secret without me.

We made the obligatory social media posts (no ring pictures or catchy lines – not our style) and were blown away by the support of our friends. It was so humbling to realize how wonderful our friends are and how caring and supportive they are of us through their kind words and messages.