We met the modern way, on Match.com, though we like to say we won the match. At the time, Ted was still sailing, and our very first date happened while he was in port in Boston. It was a classic Massachusetts–Maine pairing from the beginning: Sarah, born and raised in Massachusetts, and Ted, a proud Mainer who still hates Massachusetts and all it has to offer - except her of course. Somehow, between sea schedules and state-line rivalry, something clicked.

By the time we get married, we’ll have been together nine years (and Sarah is thrilled we didn’t cross into decade territory). In that time, we’ve done just about everything the complicated way: long-distance dating, long-distance parenting, and then navigating landside life together with more twists than we ever expected. We both changed careers—twice—bought our first home, and then moved again to make our little family brighter by bringing Gabriel’s best friend, Mimi, into our household. When we finally got a yard, we did the obvious thing: adopted our first dog, Remi. And because life with us rarely comes in singles, we also took in his best brother, Mr. Beast.

Our greatest joy has been raising our son, Gabriel Pierce Montoya. It still amazes us that we have a 7-going-on-8-year-old and that we’re somehow responsible for keeping him alive. He is our heart, our laughter, and our daily reminder that the best stories are the ones you build together - messily, joyfully, and with a lot of snacks.

We’ve also experienced profound loss, including four of our parents: David, Chuck, Cindy, and Joe. Though they won’t be physically present on our wedding day, we know they’ll be with us in every quiet moment, every prayer, and every celebration.

Throughout our journey, we’ve learned what we truly see in each other. Ted will tell anyone what an outstanding woman Sarah is, how she held down the fort while he was away at sea, managing life with strength, humor, and love. And Sarah will tell you that while she missed him miserably, she always knew every decision Ted made, then and now, was rooted in supporting and protecting their family.

Through challenges and blessings, we’ve grown stronger in faith, in love, and over time, in communication. Ted maintains he has only one feeling, and Sarah still manages to hurt it, but somehow, that’s become one of the things that works for us.

As for the proposal, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Ted did an outstanding job keeping such a big secret, and Gabriel did an outstanding job… trying to. But the little smiles, the sighs, and the barely-contained excitement gave mom just enough clues that something was coming. So when Ted proposed in the parking lot of the hotel where we first laid eyes on each other, it was still absolutely perfect: heartfelt, meaningful, and authentically ours.

We joke that we could have happily eloped, but after all this time (thanks, Ted), we realized we wanted to celebrate with the people who helped carry us through the rollercoaster years, the ones who encouraged us, supported us, told us we were great parents, and saw a joy in us that we didn’t even know was missing until we found each other.

We can’t wait to celebrate this long-awaited moment with you.