On a perfect September evening in 2024, Jared Boone dropped to one knee on the sands of Moshup Beach in Aquinnah and asked Chidinma Ihuoma a question that had been more than ten years – and 17,000 words – in the making. 

The pair met in 2013 when Chidinma was a sophomore at the College of the Holy Cross and Jared was a newly accepted freshman. As a volunteer for the admissions office, she called to congratulate him on his acceptance. He answered. And just like that, their story began.

The couple’s first trip to Martha’s Vineyard in 2020 sealed the deal on the Island’s magic. “We fell in love with everything about the place,” Jared said. So, when he began thinking about the proposal, he knew it had to happen in Aquinnah. 

Jared planned every detail: the blanket, the champagne, and the hidden “Marry Me” rock purchased from Sanctuary in Oak Bluffs. He even enlisted local photographer Randi Baird to capture the moment from behind a cleverly placed beach umbrella.

But the real showstopper? A 17,000-word memoir he wrote, titled To Have and To Hold: Our Story of Love and Friendship, the ultimate love letter to his future bride and a heartfelt gift for their future children.

As they walked the beach, Chidinma had no idea what was coming. After some creative improvising and a well-timed, “Hey! Look at that ship!” Jared proposed. She tearfully nodded yes. Then came the seals – two of them – bobbing gently in the water. “Even though my mother and grandmother weren’t there,” Jared said, “those seals were God’s way of letting me know they were with us.” 

A spring 2026 wedding in North Carolina is planned.