I’m so excited to finally share our proposal story with you today!

I’ve included a little sneak peak at our engagement session with A.Fogarty Photography as well and will have an entire blog post to share them with you in a few months. We just want to keep most of them a surprise for our family and friends for the Holidays and Save the Dates, but haven’t decided exactly which ones yet! 🙂

portland-maine-engagement-session

HOW WE MET

Sergio moved from New Hampshire to Maine our junior year of high school and quickly became close friends with my cousin through the soccer team. One night my family went over to my cousin’s house for dinner and I was officially introduced to the ‘new guy’. It wasn’t until a couple weeks later while starting a new semester of classes that I walked into Mrs. Brown’s history class with only one seat open – next to Sergio! He started going 30 minutes out of his way each day to drop me off at my house after school and frequently stayed to study for history exams.

how we met mindy and sergio how we met mindy and sergio

Once February vacation came around, he finally asked me out on a date and we hung out every single day! We made their relationship ‘official’ at the end of vacation by attending a high school basketball game, hand in hand. 8.5 years, a few college degrees, an adventure to Boston and one orange fur-ball later, we’ve been holding hands every day since!

HOW HE ASKED

After high school, I attended the University of Maine and Sergio attended Bentley University two hours away. We were long distance for all four years of school and really made the most of our time together by exploring both each of our cities – Portland, Maine and Boston, Massachusetts. Right after graduating college, Sergio and I moved in together in Boston. Between starting our business careers, we haven’t had a breather to visit Portland.

Earlier this year, Sergio mentioned that we should take a summer trip to Portland to reminisce on our favorite spots and explore an area we’ve never been before – Peak’s Island. So for August, he booked a hotel in the Old Port which is a beautiful, coast-lined area of Portland full of adorable little boutiques, cobblestone roads, lobster rolls galore and so many spots that are near and dear to our hearts. I looked forward to this August trip for months!

Right when we arrived to the Old Port, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining. After grabbing a coffee, we hopped on the ferry for a relaxing thirty minutes boat ride off the coast of Maine to Peak’s Island. We couldn’t have asked for a more gorgeous day for what Sergio had planned! I had absolutely no CLUE that the ride back, my high school sweetheart would be my FIANCE!

After filling up our bellies and refueling with lunch on the island, Sergio suggested we rent some bicycles to ride alongside the coastline all the way to the top of Peak’s. The views were absolutely BREATHTAKING. On our left were pretty rocks, the Portland coast line and the huge blue ocean full of little sailboats. To our right were adorable, quaint coast cottages with cute little flower boxes on each balcony.

One we reached the top of the island we decided to take a break and enjoy the stunning view on a secluded area of rocks.

our proposal peak's island portland maine mindy sergio

I was looking to my left side, fiddling to put my phone into my purse. Right then, Sergio grabbed my hand. I looked towards my right side, only to see him dropped down on one knee with a little black velvet box in his hand!

I was in total shock and for once in my life – speechless haha! Sergio had everything he wanted to say laid out so eloquently and beautifully that I couldn’t help but just cry and really take in the moment. Little did I know, he recorded the entire thing so I can listen to him ask me to marry him over and over and I won’t miss a single word.

After sitting on the rocks to soak in this special moment, a couple that was sitting on the rocks across the bend approached us. They caught on to what was happening and captured the moment on their phone! Seriously – how thoughtful?!

our proposal peak's island portland maine mindy sergio peaks island engagement proposal

After a bike ride back down the island whaling “I’m engaged!!!!”.. asking S every 10 seconds if this was real life.. and almost crashing my bike staring at the gorgeous ring on my left hand, we hopped on the ferry back to Portland. Once there, we called my dad and video chatted Sergio’s parents to tell them the exciting news. After 8.5 years, we are engaged!

our proposal peak's island portland maine mindy sergio

We spent the next couple days celebrating between just the two of us. S had a reservation waiting the night of our engagement at our favorite restaurant, The Corner Room followed by dessert at Beal’s Ice Cream. The next day we took explored a few of our favorite spots in the Old Port before returning back to Boston to tell all our closest friends and more family members the news!! We were on the phone for six straight hours, told the story 25 times and cried more times that I can count! Our hearts are just so full with all the love we’ve received.

portland maine engagement holy donut portland maine engagement

A couple weeks after, we decided to return to Portland for our engagement shoot and soak in the area where we were engaged and now will be married next year. We shot near the ferry boat that took us to Peak’s Island and chewed down on donuts like our typical selves hehe. More on that in a few months :-*!

Thank you SO MUCH for being a part of this amazing time in our lives. We appreciate every comment, email and message from readers!! If you want to see even more details and pictures, head to our feature on HowHeAsked.com! Xoxo Mindy

*Please note all engagement photos were taken by A.Fogarty Photography.

  1. Koryn says:

    Oh goodness this was so sweet to read! Congratulations to you both!

    Pick Your Beau

  2. This is so cute babe!!! Congratulations, I loved hearing all about your story and both of your dresses for couple photoshoots were the cutest!

    http://www.livelaughlinda.com

  3. michelle mink says:

    Congratulations! I don’t even know you and I am so happy for you two. Such a sweet love story.

  4. Katie says:

    This is so cute! Congrats!

    xoxo,
    Katie
    chicincarolina.blogspot.com

  5. Rachel Timmerman says:

    Oh my goodness such a sweet story! I couldn’t think of a sweeter (not to mention picturesque) proposal! I can’t wait to see more pictures! Congratulations, once again 🙂

  6. Sarah says:

    This is so, so sweet! I love that he recorded the whole thing too and that you were able to get a picture!

    x Sarah
    http://www.bohochiccafe.com

  7. amy says:

    This is such a beautiful and sweet story! Congrats on your engagement!!
    xoxo
    Amy | Pastel N Pink

  8. Gabriella Servello says:

    Perfect story for a perfect couple. So happy for you two! Can’t wait for you to be my cousin-in-law!! <3

  9. Sahra says:

    omggg you two are adorable! how sweet! and I LOVE Portland too but have never been to Peak’s Island – it looks beautiful!

    Happy Holidays!
    XO Sahra
    Que Sera Sahra

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Servello & Co. Interiors

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Hi there

I'm a Maine native residing in the Boston 'burbs sharing my love of interiors through decorating my husband and I's first home.

Through this experience, I discovered I have a knack for curating spaces that feel warm, cohesive and inviting. That passion turned into friends and family asking for interiors help and now we are here! 

Home should be a place you love to be. I'm here to help you achieve that!