These two had me emotional as I learned more about their love story. Andrea and Evan are a 
pair with a love that you read about in storybooks. I cannot wait to see how this Jersey couple makes Granite Ridge their own!
Tell me a little about you and your fiancé
Evan: "Andrea is truly my other half in life, we have a few traits that are so different (Andrea is definitely an extravert as opposed to my more introverted personality) but they compliment each other. For the most part we are basically the same person, fun and adventurous, but also love our routines like staying home and cooking dinner, watching our shows, and hanging with our cat, Batman J We love going out to new bars & restaurants, hanging out at the beach, going skiing and hiking, and getting together with family."
Andrea: "I would say that Evan and I are not only in love with each other, but actually best friends too! We definitely have aspects of our personalities that are different, and different interests, but we embrace that and they compliment each other great! One of my favorite things about our relationship is how we have sort of “taken on” each other’s separate interests and been able to enjoy them together. Because of that there are so many things we like to do together – Evan has embraced my love of country music, going to concerts, and my obsession with New England Patriots football, and I have embraced his love of outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, and skiing – those are all now some of our favorite activities to do together! We also love just being homebodies and chilling out together at home, cooking dinner and watching our shows together. It’s a nice balance, I think."
How did you two meet?
Evan: "It’s kind of a funny story how we met but seems like it is becoming more of a common thing these days. We connected through an online app. After a weekend of messaging we then ended up meeting at a bar outside of Boston. The first date’s conversation was definitely dominated by Andrea while I sat back listened and had a beer. After the first date we knew something unique was there and we started to get together more often on weekends going to Red Sox and Bruins games, going out in Boston, and exchanging life’s stories over dinner."
Andrea: "I met Evan when I was living in Boston, and had been having absolutely no luck in the dating world. Even though I’m a little embarrassed to admit that we met through a dating app, it only took one date for me to realize that he was not like every other guy and that this could really be something! Technically we were introduced through the app, but after our first date we immediately started going out on regular dates and it wasn’t long (seriously, only like 2 months) before we were totally inseparable! We just got along so well and everything felt right – I loved how genuine and honest Evan was, and how much fun he was to be around – I just knew he was the type of man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
How did you two get engaged
Evan: "It all took place last July when we went out one morning to watch the sunrise on the Jersey shore at 5 am! We set up our beach chairs, drank our coffee, and had a small breakfast while waiting for the sun to rise above the ocean in front of us. Shortly after the sun peaked above the horizon I got down on one knee and asked Andrea to marry me. It ended up being actually pretty funny afterwards though, because although I planned it so that it would be private and just the two of us being that early, there was a guy who was sleeping on the beach nearby from the night before (partied too hard I guess haha), and he saw the whole thing and then came over and said congratulations – looking back on it we should have gotten a picture with him or something because it was just so funny and we laugh about it now that the first person to congratulate us on our engagement was a random drunk guy on the beach!" (LOL)
What vision do you have for your wedding?
Andrea: "I would say the vision for our wedding is laidback and intimate, and most importantly a big party where everyone has a blast! We are having a very small wedding party, only a maid of honor and best man (my sister and Evan’s best friend), and a family friend officiate for us – the ceremony itself will be short and sweet with Evan and I putting together our own vows, along with the help of our officiant. As for the reception, we want everyone to just have a good time and have it feel like a big family party. We are having a family style dinner, lawn games, and (hopefully) lots of dancing! We’re trying to add a lot of personal touches with signature cocktails and beers that we love, and a personalized corn hole game that Evan is building himself! We love gathering with friends and family for epic parties and we hope our wedding will be the most epic of them all! As for the décor, the barn itself has a “rustic elegant” vibe to it, and so that is what I’m basing a lot of my design decisions off of and trying to stick with that theme!"
What vendors are you excited about working with?
Andrea: "We are planning this whole wedding from New Jersey where we live currently so its been quite a lot of work and stress with having to travel back and forth, but all of our vendors have been super helpful! We are really excited about working with our caterer, Harvest Moon. They have so helpful in planning out all of details and so nice every time we chat! The first time I talked to Shane, the head chef, about our menu, he talked to me on the phone for an hour and a half on a weeknight – that’s how committed he is and how much he loves talking about food! He really knows how to make you excited about his menu items (and make you hungry just talking about it!) They just have this super friendly vibe and that was one of the things that drove me to pick them in the first place, my first conversation with Arie made me feel so at ease and I immediately trusted them! We’ve heard nothing but great things about them so we are definitely excited to see how it all comes together. Our wedding planners are Kristina and Chelsea from The Purple Orchid and they have also been amazing, they are so nice and friendly, and you can tell they really love what they do – they seem just as excited for the wedding as we are! Some of our other vendors are Broadturn Farm for flowers, Brittany from Something Borrowed Photography, Nothing Bakes Like a Parrott for our cake, and DJ Jon Shannon (from WPOR radio station!) And of course, I can’t not mention Micki from Granite Ridge who has been the best during the whole process!"
Why did you choose Granite Ridge?
Andrea: "It’s funny because growing up, of course being the typical girl, I had this whole vision of what I wanted my wedding to be like – summer, beachy, somewhere on Cape Cod or the beaches of Rhode Island (where I spent most of my time growing up). I had been to Maine but never spent much time there or had a connection there. Then when I met Evan, who grew up in Maine, I obviously started to spend more time there, and once things started to get serious between us my “vision” of the perfect wedding completely changed, and there was no doubt in my mind that Maine was where I wanted us to get married! Long before we were even engaged, I fell in love with the idea of having a barn wedding in Maine. Literally the day after we got engaged, I started researching barn venues, picked the 3 that I liked best, flew up and visited them all in a day and Granite Ridge was by far our absolute favorite. As I’m sure everyone else who has experienced a wedding there would say, you just can’t beat the beauty of the barn and the spectacular views. Micki also was a huge factor, she was just fantastic on our tour and made us feel so comfortable. We also loved the idea of having the house for a few days beforehand to spend some time there with our immediate family and friends – coming from a big family that is super close, this was a huge selling point and we can’t wait to spend our wedding weekend there with everyone we love!"
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