Melissa Fricot of Attleboro, Massachusetts and Andrew Campbell of Charlestown, Rhode Island are set to wed on January 18, 2020 at Lakeview Pavilion.
How We Met
Andrew and I swiped right in March of 2018, the weekend of my thirtieth birthday. I always knew that my thirties would be some of the best years of my life, and boy has it been — as it started off by meeting the love of my life! While I was away in Newport for birthday celebrations, we spent the whole weekend texting as if we had always known each other. When Andrew first asked me out on a date, I was over the moon but had to wait until later in the following week due to our work schedules; however, it gave me something to look forward to. It is actually surprising that we hadn’t met before as we had many mutual connections and worked in the same town of East Greenwich. Andrew is a firefighter and, at the time, was at the station that responded to New England Institute of Technology, where I work. Only makes me wonder how many times he responded to calls at the college and we crossed paths — but I guess the old saying is right that timing really is everything!
The Monday before our scheduled first date was just one of those days that you needed to de-stress after work. When Mother Nature decides to send a snow storm during the week of finals, it never ends well when you work in higher education. After spending the whole day rescheduling final exams/practicums and proctoring final exams, I needed a drink and asked Andrew to join. Our ‘unofficial date’ was at Fat Belly’s (RIP), where we chatted for hours, pretty much until closing and celebrated the fact that I didn’t have to work the following day as the school was closed due to the storm. Following our first official date at Café Fresco, we had a handful of dates — all of which just continued to get better and better. Needless to say, we have been inseparable ever since.
Our Proposal Story
Fast forward to almost a year into our relationship and we were approaching our first Valentine’s Day. Andrew had asked me what I wanted to do — knowing that I was going to spend all day at work, I was more than willing to Netflix and chill with a homemade meal. He was not very happy with my response and told me not to stress, as he would take care of it, ensuring that he would make it special. Now, we had talked about marriage and I knew that it would be coming, but assumed within the next few months. The Friday before Valentine’s Day, I was working at the hospital and he insisted that he come up and spend the night. I told him it was silly seeing how I wasn’t going to be home to spend time with him, but he said he missed Izzy & Zoe (my cats) and wanted to hang out with them. Before I headed off to work, I ran some errands with my Mom. During the middle of our outing, Andrew,,unbeknownst to me, texted her asking if her and my father would be home that night so he could ask them for my hand in marriage. Surprisingly, she managed to keep her cool while she was with me and I did not pick up on anything.
For dinner, Andrew had made reservations at Spain in Narragansett and said that we could catch the sunset at Point Judith Lighthouse and watch the surfers before our reservations. This is nothing out of the norm for us, as Andrew is a surfer and often surfs at the lighthouse. As I left work, I gave him a call to tell him I was on my way. The second I pulled in the drive way, he pretty much ran out of the house all dressed up, insisting that he grab my overnight bag from me. I told him that as an independent woman I didn’t need him to do that for me and he shouldn’t treat me any different on Valentine’s Day (yeah, stubborn, I know). I walked into the house to find beautiful pink roses, chocolates and a beautifully written card — mind you this card dropped some major hints that I was oblivious to! After changing and getting ready, I texted my mom updates on how he tried to be such a gentleman and complained about what I was wearing and how I looked as he went all out. Knowing what was about to happen, she reassured me that I looked beautiful reminding me to relax and enjoy the night.
As we drove down to the lighthouse, everything was completely normal as we chatted about our day. Upon arrival, Andrew backed the truck in, in the complete opposite direction of the sunset, and started to get awkward. I got out of the truck and he was rummaging around so I headed off without him. Once he got situated, he came over gave me a big hug and a kiss and we watched the waves. He started talking about how the rocks create the waves in the water and how magical it was. In my head, I was thinking, ‘Okay? I’m cold, there is no one surfing, feed me, I’m hangry’. He continued with saying that this place was so magical to him that he wanted to make it more magical, pulled out a ring and asked if I would marry him. To be quite honest, I was beyond shocked and surprised saying, “Are you f&#!ing kidding me.” This was the first time that someone had honestly surprised me and I was so taken back. Still down on one knee, Andrew looked at me and goes, “Melissa, I’m kneeling in mud and you didn’t answer me.” The answer was the easiest ‘yes!’ I’ve ever said. He slipped the ring on my ringer and all I could do was stare at it giddy with shock.
Still giddy, shocked and taken back, I called Andrew out on being awkward in the truck. He explained that my mom told him I wanted this moment photographed, however, he knew that I would pick up on it so he got creative. Instead of pictures, he audio recorded the whole moment with an app on his phone; which was what he was trying to turn on while was in the truck. Playing the recording, you can hear the complete shock and disbelief in my voice, which is something I will treasure forever. Before we headed off to dinner, we took some time to enjoy the moment and our surroundings with each other in private as we were pretty much the only people at the lighthouse in February. We took the expected ‘we’re engaged’ pictures with the sun setting in the background to remember the moment forever.
