Read more from The Big Day , The Boston Globe’s new weddings column.
Briana DeVincenzo joined the 8 a.m. class at CrossFit Woburn in late 2020. The small group workout fit her remote schedule as a Systems Engineer at NASA, and she quickly became a regular.
Shane Adams found the class in June 2021, the second man in an otherwise established group of eight participants. He had served in the Air Force for six years before beginning a career in cyber security sales. He saw CrossFit as the most efficient way to optimize his workout.
“He didn’t talk to anyone,” Briana remembers with a laugh. “He was the guy who showed up late, did his workout, and left.”
Before they dated, Shane remembers hearing Briana mention that she worked at NASA. “I thought was the coolest thing ever, ” he says. “I was a space geek when I was a kid.” Lensy Michelle
A former gym employee himself, Shane considered it a mistake to try to pick up another member. (“I would never want to be that guy.”)
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But he and Briana felt a pull toward one another that fall as they stumbled on common interests: a Rainbow Kitten Surprise sticker (Briana’s favorite band) on Shane’s water bottle, a shared favorite film (”Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) mentioned during the gym’s Jim Carey-themed workout week.
In November, Shane received a push strong enough to break his own rule. He had mentioned he would celebrate his birthday at a UFC fight in New York, and Briana replied with her favorite fighters. (They were his, too.)
The couple used records from their music collection — representing their favorite bands — to serve as table numbers during the reception. Lensy Michelle
When he looked Briana up on Instagram, he was surprised to see she had posted several photos with his former work colleague Kristen. It was an opportunity. “I was going to ask her out, or at least slide into the DMs in some capacity, but very much in a plausible deniability way,” Shane says.
His DM — ‘OMG, how do you know Kristen?’ — was warmly received. (Kristen turned out to be Briana’s best friend from Wake Forest University.) They exchanged enthusiastic, paragraph-long messages throughout the weekend. More shared threads, like comedian Tim Dillon’s podcast and a love for live music, were revealed.
When Shane asked if she’d like to meet up, Briana kindly informed him she was seeing someone. To his dismay, the next class had poor attendance: “It was literally the two of us.”
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But weeks later, the newly single Briana asked if his offer still stood.
Their first date was in January 2022 at Burtons Grill & Bar in Burlington. Though both were nervous, the conversation flowed.
Briana didn’t carry a bouquet and opted out of florals for the reception. The couple worked with Good Graces Events to bring in a color block palette, lighting effects, and unique table settings for a vibrant evening without a petal in sight. Lensy Michelle
“My face hurt so hard from smiling,” remembers Briana.
Shane worried he’d “idealized” Briana, based on their texts. “But we had our first kiss,” he says, “and that was another moment of ‘OK, yes — this is a million times yes.’”
Endless conversation kept the relationship growing. They learned each other’s favorite bands and made playlists for each other.
Their first show together was that April — Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at the House of Blues, chosen by Briana, a jam band aficionado. After an Alt-J’s show later that month, they exchanged “I love you’s.”
“I think from there it was a ripple effect,” says Briana. “He was like, ‘I’ve never had a buddy or a friend or anyone come to concerts with me and jump around and be a crazy person the way that I am.’ So, we started just booking every single one of our favorite bands that came to town.”
Briana and Shane changed into their dancing clothes for their reception at the House of Blues. Lensy Michelle
Date nights were marked by conversations that stretched until sunrise. In between, their epic texts continued.
“You could tell that it was something different It was something special. There was that youthful excitement that I hadn’t felt for a long time and didn’t think was possible in your 30s,” says Shane.
Briana was taken by Shane’s integrity. “The way that he treats other people in the world just comes from the goodness inside of him,” she says.
She also noted his strong core of self-care and exploration, grounded in his faith. “[He] just wants to be a better person in every way,” she explains.
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Shane found peace in Briana’s depth and her soothing presence. “She has this warm, inviting smile that calms the waters” — as well as her non-cynical, unabashedly independent nature.
“She’s a true individual,” he explains. “She wants to be deliberately unique and different, and I love that.”
The couple served two signature cocktails at their reception — one called Road to Hana (a nod to the route they drove in Maui, Hawaii, before getting engaged) and the other the Ring of Fire, a Japanese whiskey cocktail inspired by their honeymoon. Lensy Michelle
When Shane moved into Briana’s house in Billerica that summer, the couple had started discussing marriage. The next summer, he told her family he planned to propose.
While en route to a 10-day Hawaii vacation that fall, their airline required carry-on bags to be checked for space. Not willing to spill the beans at the gate, Shane watched as his luggage was stowed away … with an engagement ring tucked inside.
“The entire time, everybody was texting me, and I’m freaking out,” he remembers. But once the couple made it to Maui — so did the ring.
The next morning, they drove to 10,000 feet, to watch the sunrise atop the volcano Haleakalā. There, operating on relief-induced adrenaline and East Coast Time, Shane proposed. The ring was a crystal-flanked Montana sapphire engraved with an Alt-J lyric, “It’s just you and me now,” a nod to their memorable after-show.
Good Graces Events booked Elton John tribute artist American Elton to perform the artist’s greatest hits live. Lensy Michelle
Shane and Briana approached wedding planning with the wisdom of 30-somethings who had attended many.
“I always have fun at weddings,” says Briana, now 33. (Shane is 34.) ”Just, at this point in my life, I wanted something that was a little bit different.”
The guest list grew quickly — both grew up in Mass. and have large circles of family and friends across college, service, and their jobs in tech; Briana now works at MongoDB, Shane at Cast AI. They settled on a reception for 160 on Nov. 9 at the House of Blues in Boston, a full circle moment to their first concert together. The ceremony was held at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Brookline.
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The couple worked with Connecticut-based planning and design agency Good Graces Events, to plan the details and execute their vision — from 30-plus life-size cardboard cut-outs of the pair with their favorite bands to Elton John impersonator, American Elton, who surprised guests with a live performance later that evening.
They thrifted 192 pairs of vintage sunglasses to communicate seating assignments; vintage records doubled as centerpieces and table numbers. At the suggestion of Good Graces, they bought a Fender guitar for guests to “autograph” in lieu of a guest book. (And not just for show — Shane plays guitar, drums, and piano.)
Their plans went from a small, intimate wedding to a full-on party — but despite a three-figure guest list to greet, the couple made sure to find pockets of time to enjoy the day one-on-one. Lensy Michelle
After the ceremony, Briana traded her Grace Loves Lace gown for custom bell bottoms embroidered with Shane’s name by Fairbanks Fancy Goods; he swapped his white King & Bay tuxedo jacket for metallic brocade.
Colorful spotlights, a disco ball, and a surprise confetti cannon (a gift from the father of the bride) helped make the reception a party. Their first dance was to “Beautiful” by Twiddle, a Vermont jam band Briana had introduced Shane to early on in their courtship.
“When it comes on in the middle of their [typically high-energy] concerts, it’s just a nice moment,” she says. “I think that moment has carried on throughout our relationship.”
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Read more from The Big Day, The Boston Globe’s new weddings column.
Rachel Kim Raczka is a writer and editor in Boston. She can be reached at rachel.raczka@globe.com.