HOW WE MET
Our life paths have aligned for a long time now. We both spent our lower, middle and high school years at the Blake School in Minneapolis, MN. From pre-kindergarten through senior year, Johnny was two grades ahead of Isabel — we overlapped for five years in lower school, one year in middle school and two years in high school.
Although we always knew of each other (as most do at Blake, a very small school), it wasn’t until the summer after Isabel graduated high school that we connected for the first time. At the time, Johnny was a junior at Boston College. Isabel learned from her good friend Raye that he was single (and home for the summer) and decided to reach out.
Little did we know, our years at Blake were also spent living in the same neighborhood, and on the same street. It wasn’t until Johnny entered Isabel’s address into Google Maps for our first date that we learned our family homes are less than a one-minute drive away. The close proximity has made time spent in Minneapolis together particularly fun and convenient — we often split holidays between the two houses.
“We closed down Big Bowl on our first date. I remember being surprised by how comfortable I felt around him… it felt like our souls were already familiar with each other and had been for a long time.”
- Isabel
OUR DATING ERA
We sometimes joke that we found each other at the most inconvenient time… after having lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same school for fourteen years, the first five years of our relationship were spent long distance — Virginia to Boston, NYC to Minneapolis, NYC to Boston, Boston to Indiana, Boston to Minneapolis, and Boston to Johannesburg. We feel grateful to have overlapped at Boston College for a brief period and Johnny’s last semester.
We finally landed in the same city when Isabel moved back to Minneapolis after graduating from BC. We both lived separately in Minneapolis for a year, before relocating back to Boston and moving in together for two years while Johnny got his MBA.
“At the time, long distance worked for us. It took good and often communication on both ends, equal trust and a level of independence. We always knew when we would see each other next, and that our relationship was our priority.”
-Johnny
THE PROPOSAL
It was Saturday, April 13, 2024. Johnny was in his second (and final) year at Harvard Business School in Boston, MA — finals were wrapping up and a celebratory trip to Asia was quickly approaching. With only a handful of mornings left in our Cambridge apartment, we made plans to visit our favorite neighborhood bagel shop, Black Sheep Bagels.
There was a strange oscillation between moments of sunshine and moments of rain. Johnny wanted to eat down by the Charles River, so in a moment of sunshine we walked our breakfast down to a bench along the Charles Esplanade.
“The cherry blossoms were in full bloom. A photographer was waiting for us, and before I knew it Johnny was down on one knee looking up at me. Marrying Johnny was never a question in my mind. I always knew he was the one for me.”
-Isabel
We enjoyed keeping the engagement a secret between the two of us for a few hours, and then spent the afternoon facetiming close family members and friends. That evening, Johnny organized a table for the two of us at our favorite sushi spot in Boston. Our parents treated us to dinner and champagne, and we daydreamed about all that was to come.
LIFE TODAY
Johnny’s new job in management consulting has led us to a new city, Chicago, IL. Our new neighborhood, Gold Coast, is only a short walk from the bustle of downtown, the paths of Lincoln Park and the beaches of Lake Michigan.
We are excited to explore Chicago, with plans to settle down back in Minneapolis when the time is right.
“We are enjoying being back in the Midwest, closer to home, and less than an hour drive from our new nephew, Kieran!”
-Johnny