As promised, ladies & gentlemen, here is the very first entry in our "Becoming the Breen's" series! This is the story of how we met, slightly tweaked from our wedding website. We did a "His" & "Hers" version since we both had slightly different viewpoints on the whole thing. You'll also see this format for our proposal story.
This is definitely the short version, but how do you sum up of the most amazing years of your life?! :-) Enjoy!
How We Met: (According to Rene)
We started talking in July of 2006 thanks to Kelsey, a mutual friend. I had just gone through a really messy breakup and Kelsey insisted I meet her guy friend. I had very little interest in getting to know another guy at the time, but I contacted Andrew just to pacify her.... Little did I know that Kelsey had just introduced me to my future husband...
Initially it seemed as if we had nothing in common. We had different tastes in politics, music, movies... everything. Andrew was a drummer in a band with crazy spiky hair & I was not such a fan of punk rock, to say the least. But our curiosity in each other led to a wonderful friendship and the discovery that beneath all the superficial surfaces we had so much more in common than we thought. Soon we found ourselves talking on the phone almost every night for hours and hours. I wasn't eager to rush into anything serious, although I felt this ridiculously intense desire to be around him. We maintained a close friendship but both dated other people, dismissing our chemistry for years & insisting to others that we were "just best friends."
Finally, in January 2008 Andrew went to Chicago for a trip and I missed him more than I cared to admit. We had begun to discuss the possibility of an "us" but we both knew that if we decided to date it would change our lives, & friendship, forever. The timing had always seemed wrong but somehow, suddenly the possibility of being romantically involved with my best friend wasn't so "weird" anymore. I had become super close with Andrew's family during the years the two of us had been friends so I went with his mom to pick him up from the bus station, and as soon as he stepped off the bus I knew, at that moment, that he was THE ONE. & most importantly- I was done denying it. I had to have him. & to make it easy, the feeling was mutual. :-)
We began to go on "dates" but didn't make it official until April, when Andrew finally, officially asked me to be his girlfriend (under the stars on a trampoline, in case you were wondering.) Andrew told me he loved me pretty soon after we started dating. I'd never dropped the "L" bomb before & wanted to be absolutely sure. Fast forward to Senior Prom, which we attended together. As we swayed to the notes of "I Wanna Know" by Joe & sang in goofy voices to each other, I looked into the eyes of this boy who had been my best friend for years & realized that this was the kind of love I wanted for always -- easy, organic, silly.... A few days later I dropped the "L" word by sticking post-it notes saying "I Love You" all over Andrew's car at his work. He called me up & before I could say a word he excitedly yelled into the receiver "Really!? Do you, really!? Ahh! I LOVE YOU TOO!" :-)
How We Met: (According to Andrew)
It's kind of funny how well opposites attract, isn't it?
Well, our story is definitely one of opposites attracting.
I dated a girl named Kelsey way, way back in middle school, which ended in in us just being friends. One day I received an instant message from one of Kelsey's friends. I had no idea that this random instant message was from the girl of my dreams.
It was a weird and impersonal just instant messaging each other back and forth about trivial things so Rene gave me her phone number. That went better than expected. She was the only girl that I could actually converse with for hours about anything and everything. After that first phone call, We called each other literally every single night before we went to bed and talked for hours. We had relationships going on with other people & although we thought often about dating each other, we were convinced that if we dated, it would ruin a great friendship. As the months passed, we kept growing more and more fond of each other but we still continued to avoid the whole "romance" thing.
It was almost the end of senior year, I was on a high school band trip and I learned a lot about myself and what I really wanted. Being a hopeless romantic and watching everyone pair up on the trip just kinda opened my eyes. I broke up with my current , casual girlfriend, via text message ( I know jerk move..) and began to plan how I would give my heart to my best friend. (it took me a while, I admit,)
So April 17th 2008 Rene had a bonfire with some friends at her house. We were talking and laughing and I just felt so drawn to her at that point. As we laid on her trampoline listening to the sounds of the crickets and carrying on conversation I knew I had to make my move.
I was never good with asking girls out, so I said something along the lines of "ya know? we've talked to each
other pretty much every night, we've gone through a lot together, break-ups, heartache blah, blah, blah...." and she said "Andrew Breen, are you asking me out??" And I (nervously) said, "I think so. Uh... yeah?" And she laughed at me. She laughed. I was so embarrassed, fearing rejection. Turns out she was still in disbelief and also happened to think I was joking. But, once the shock wore off, we put some serious thought into it, talked about it for awhile & we decided to give it a try.
And we still talk every night for hours before we go to bed (and every other time of day.) Only these days a phone is not necessary. What could be better than that?
I love her so much. She is definitely the girl every guy dreams of marrying. I am the luckiest man in the world.
(& Andrew too!)
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