Our Story

Being from a small town like St. Stephen, where everyone knows everyone, we both knew of one another for the majority of our youth. But Ally being in French Immersion, and a year ahead of Alistair in school, really kept our social circles separate. Our first official introduction happened when Alistair’s brother (and best man) Ian suggested we carpool back and forth from university. Both poor students, we eagerly agreed, the allure of gas savings too good to pass up. Thus began the many trips of us, and our other university friends, all squished into Ally’s Ford Escort. Alistair was the first of many stops leaving St. Stephen, so he often had the privilege of riding shotgun on the long journeys to Antigonish, NS. Those endless hours spent driving afforded us many hours to get acquainted and a friendship was formed. Back at X, Ally was a resident assistant in the dorm where Alistair used to live and still visited his on-campus friends often. This gave us more time to get to know each other in a more social setting and, luckily for Alistair, Ally was his in with the RAs and could get away with some open liquor and drinking in the halls.

One memorable night at the end of their second year, after weeks of playful (or attempted) flirting over Messenger, Ally’s friend encouraged her to invite Alistair to their end-of-year party. To Ally’s surprise, he said yes. The evening unfolded with laughter, conversation, and flirting, ending in the way some college nights do… The next morning, Ally tried to sneak away unnoticed. Her plan was quickly foiled when she knocked over the beer-pong table in Alistair’s room. Awkward conversation was exchanged and Ally said goodbye until… their journey back to St. Stephen later that day. After another long drive, this time much quieter than the others, Ally dropped Alistair off at his parent’s place for the summer, neither knowing when they would speak again. Ally didn’t have to wait and wonder long; Alistair reached out a couple of days later, we spent that summer falling for one another and the rest is history.

It’s difficult to sort through the many memories we’ve made throughout our relationship and pick just one favourite. We both reflect fondly on the early days of our relationship – our time in university; the joy and celebration of receiving our X-Rings; travelling to Mexico for Ally's first time ‘going south’; and both being awarded our university degrees.

Our adult lives unlocked a whole new set of memories – navigating our move to Halifax; Ally’s transition into the professional workforce as a nurse; Alistair’s time in the post-graduation job force; and ultimately, his decision to go back to school and study technology. Alistair completed his technology studies and started his professional life in “the tech world”; Ally changed jobs; we reconnected with old friends; we got our grumpy cat, Ollie; and navigated the trials and tribulations of our early twenties hand-in-hand. We survived Ally working the front lines of a global pandemic in our one-bedroom apartment; spent our first Christmas just the two of us; and fulfilled another life-long dream and got a golden retriever puppy, Cosmo. We’ve celebrated the highest highs and overcome the lowest lows in our relationship and have grown as individuals and as a couple in the process.

Some of our fondest memories take us back to where it all began – on road trips. We fulfilled Ally’s dream of seeing Elton John in concert; we camped a little; we adventured around a small Hawaiian island in a renovated mail truck; survived a hurricane in said mail truck; and were refugees at a Mormon college. We’ve attended countless concerts, music festivals and comedy shows; had the privilege of witnessing our dearest friends marry; and experienced the joy of seeing some of those friends become parents. Our latest adventure to Nice, France, featured the surprise of all surprises – our engagement!

When we reflect on our life so far together, we feel very lucky that we’ve been blessed to share these memories as best friends and partners in life. We’re so excited for what the future holds and we can’t wait to see what’s next.