FRANKLIN- van Nes -
I'm the lucky groom! I was born in Dorset, England, and grew up on a farm with my younger sister, Naomi, and my two older brother's Vincent and Lucas (the officiant!). It was on the farm that I discovered my love for a good walk and a good talk. Sara knows this well! I stuck around long enough to get a british accent, only to move to America at age 15 to lose it. I moved with my family to Hamden, CT for high school, and then to Cambridge MA after going to college in upstate New York. Now I build websites (like this one), ride bikes, and get out as much as I can.
Sara- Roelke -
I am the lucky bride! Unlike Franklin, I have spent most of my life in the same area of the same country - the Greater Boston Area, Massachusetts, U.S.A. One of the most pivotal moments in my life, however, happened away from home. On Colgate's campus in upstate New York, I met the love of my life. I was lucky enough to return home after college with my future husband. My favorite activities in our Cambridge apartment include lifting weights, harassing the cat, and cooking vegan meals. I am currently hard at work earning my master's degree in nutrition science and policy.
OUR 
STORY
6 years ago, Sara and I met as innocent little (and big) sophomores at Colgate. Our friendship slowly brewed over our time together on campus, until we fell absolutely head over heels for each other in our senior year. In 2018, we both moved to the Boston-Cambridge area, where we explored the city together and built our own idea of home - the two of us, a cat, and lot of chit-chatting, Netflix, and smiles.
I knew that Sara was the one for me WAY too soon. Luckily, I didn't scare her off! Now, we get to spend the rest of our lives together and continue the fun into our old ages. We can't wait for you to join us in celebrating us kicking off this amazing adventure.
WE STARTED AS FRIENDS
Sara and I met and became friends in our sophomore year of college in 2015. We slowly grew our friendship over time and went on a couple trips and adventures together. Neither of us knew that we would fall in love with each other! In hindsight, it seems only natural for us two dorks to have fallen for each other. The picture to the side is when we took a trip to Manhattan with our friends.
LEBANON STREET
Our friendship grew and grew over the years. When Sara left for Madrid in Fall 2016, and I then left for New Zealand in Spring 2017, we finally reunited in the Summer of 2017. Clearly I missed spending time together, because I made every excuse I could to spend time with Sara. "Let's make brownies!"... "Have you seen the latest John Oliver?"... "Want to watch The Bachelor together?!". Spending time with Sara was just too much fun to pass up, and so I asked her out outside of her apartment on Lebanon street, Hamilton, NY on a beautiful snowy evening. I think Sara must have enjoyed spending time with me too, because she agreed!
OUR PARTNERSHIP
Simply put, Franklin and I have blast together. We are the biggest goofs. Not a day goes by when Franklin does not make me crack up. From our iconic Halloween costume (pictured) to our silly dance parties, to exchanging dorky jokes in between work meetings, Franklin and I can always be caught making each other laugh. When life gets hard, Franklin always provides a (tall) shoulder to cry on and the (biggest) arms to fall into. We’ve grown together and supported each other through it all, and as a result, have built the strongest partnership.
HE PROPOSED!
“Please can you leave the apartment on Tuesday night from 4 to 6pm? I have something I need to set up” said Franklin, unable to be more sneaky about a proposal due to the pandemic. Oh my god - it’s happening, I thought to myself. On that Tuesday night I walked to Target and strolled the aisles aimlessly until I killed enough time. I arrived to our street sweaty from carrying a 15lb bag of cat litter home. I saw Franklin down the road, carrying a big brown takeout bag. When we got inside, Franklin revealed the food was from our favorite ($$$ on google maps) restaurant. This special occasion food confirmed to me that it was happening for sure.
Franklin walked me into the living room, where he had creatively set up beautiful “tent of memories,” complete with roses and adorned with dozens of photos of the two of us. The cat had already made himself at home in the tent and we joined him inside to enjoy our dinner while we looked back on our memories captured by the photos. The food was delicious and Franklin did not seem nervous at all. In fact, he completed three platefuls of food. Maybe he wasn’t going to propose tonight after all?
As we finished our meal, Franklin asked that we go outside in the cold to relive one more memory. He walked me down from our third floor apartment, reminding me that when he first asked me out, he started confessing his feelings for me coming down from my third floor apartment in Hamilton, NY. We got outside, and just like he asked me out for the very first time on the sidewalk outside of my Hamilton apartment, he asked me to marry him on the sidewalk outside of our first home together. My legs went weak, I sobbed and said YES!
AND NEXT... A WEDDING!
WHEN & WHERE
March 2021: A Virtual Ceremony
2022: A Grand Celebration
Join us, March 27th, 2021, for a virtual ceremony to witness the matrimony of Sara Anne Roelke and Franklin Matthew van Nes.
Please RSVP (click here) to be sure that you are sent the private video link and instructions to join us virtually as we are wedded in the Seaport Hotel, Boston.
We WISH you could all attend in person at the Seaport Hotel, but for the safety of our guests and to satisfy the state's restrictions around indoor events, we will be limiting in-person attendance to just 8 guests.
Because of these limitations, we are also planning an in-person celebration in 2022. If you received an invite to the virtual event, we are also inviting you to attend this big celebration. We will be sure to notify you with a save the date card when we have those details.
REGISTRY
Please note: we are not having a registry for the virtual wedding. Stay home, relax, and just join us on the day over zoom! We will be having a registry for the in-person celebration in 2022 instead.
RSVP
RSVP using the form below.