Couple Feature: Jessica & Joseph

You know when you meet a couple that is just too perfect in every way? Say hello to Joe and Jessica. They're brilliant, good looking and kind - just amazing. Anyway - I was so excited to learn more about them, which has only served to make me double excited for their upcoming nuptials here at the Ridge. 

Tell me a little about you and your fiancé

"Joe and I both graduated from Northeastern University in 2015. Now, I work in pharmaceutical research while I’m waiting to start medical school (this August!) and he works at an aerospace engineering startup company. We are both kids at heart, and try not to take ourselves too seriously. We try to have fun together by going on little adventures, even if it’s just trying out a new coffee shop or looking for a new park to take our dog to. We love trying out new restaurants of all kinds in Cambridge and Boston. In the summers we like taking our dog for a walk around the Charles River Esplanade to enjoy the weather. Our favorite winter activity is baking homemade chocolate chip cookies and enjoying them with a movie or a TV show. When things get serious, like when I was nervous about my medical school applications or when his company is facing a huge deadline, we both know how to ease the other’s mind. I’m sorry to say that I am the one that gets anxious more often! Joe is better than I am at taking things in stride and being patient for the outcome when it’s out of our control. He always helps to give me perspective on what is worth worrying about and what isn’t. He is more relaxed and even keeled than I am (sometimes I let stress get the better of me!). We are best friends and we are a team – we face everything together."

How did you two meet?

"We met like so many other people – through mutual friends in college. He was working on a group project with my friends who lived on the same floor I did freshman year. I first noticed him because I really liked the way he laughed. He noticed me because, as he says, “everything you did was a little odd.” I guess I took him a little by surprise, and he liked that. One night right before Thanksgiving break, he asked if he could kiss me, and we’ve been together ever since! Our relationship evolved very quickly after that – by the time we went home for Christmas we both knew that we were a done deal. Looking back it felt like a long time, but it was really only a matter of a couple weeks."

How did you two get engaged?

I wasn't entirely sure if this story was real life or stolen from a beautiful romantic novel or film, but apparently Joe is just that thoughtful. "In December 2015 we went on a trip to Paris to celebrate our 5 year anniversary of dating. Our first night in the city, we strolled down the Champs Elysees through the Christmas Market. The whole street was covered in Christmas lights and filled with market stalls selling art and mulled wine and other things. When we got to the Arc de Triomphe at the end he popped the question! It was without a doubt the most perfect day of my life. As a side note, we almost weren’t able to take the trip because of the terrorist attacks in the city only a month before we went. Even still, when we got there all the stores and tourist attractions had pretty serious security, including pat downs and bag checks. I couldn’t figure out why Joe wanted to keep a padlock on his backpack while we walked around the city (overly cautious of pickpockets I thought), or why he wanted me to go on ahead after I had been checked by the security guards and leave him behind. Later – when I found out he had been carrying a diamond ring in his bag – it made sense!" I mean come on! How much more beautiful can a proposal get?

What is your vision for your wedding?

"I want our wedding to be soft and romantic and a little woodsy. It’s hard for me to describe the vision because it’s the only kind of wedding I’ve ever really wanted! My mom likes to tease me that I’m copying the wood elves in Lord of the Rings."

What vendors are you looking forward to working with? 

While the pair is thrilled about all of their vendors, including Blue Elephant, Jacob Sound Entertainment, Savvy Rentals and Erin Ghella for hair, a few stood out from the rest. "Sarah at Watershed Floral completely gets my vision of the whole wedding and how the flowers will play into that. Her floral style is exactly what I was looking for and I love her work. I can’t wait to see how our bouquets come out!" Then there is Natalie Kerpeski. "Natalie is a makeup artist in Boston that I met at Sephora and loved – she is an awesome person and she did an amazing job on my makeup for our engagement photos. So I arranged for her to do my wedding makeup! I’m really looking forward to getting ready with her on my wedding day!"

Why did you choose Granite Ridge?

"I spent my summers as a kid, until I was 11, at Mooselookmeguntic Lake in Rangely, Maine, and those summers are a huge part of my childhood and who I am today. So Maine has always been special to me, and when I started looking for venues I looked for venues in the region. When we toured the venue, I found that the photos of Granite Ridge online did not do it justice – it is a really beautiful venue. But honestly what sold it for me was the smell of the barn and the lodge. They had the same wonderful wood smell of the lake house I spent my summers in and reminded me of all those memories. It immediately felt like a special place to me because of that, and I could see my wedding happening there."