Zoe and Tim's Briny Acre Farm Wedding Fund

Hey everyone! Thanks for taking the time to visit our GoFundMe page. For those of you who know one of us, but not the other, here is a little backround on how we met and a bit of our story!

Zoe and I met in February of 2019 . We were set up on a blind date and at the time I was working downtown and she was hosting and open mic night at her friends bar, Yes B'y's. After getting off work on the night of our date, as I approached the bar, I heard an amazingly beautiful voice drifting out from the windows and door. It was so passionate that I was eager to see who the voice belonged to. I grabbed a quick beer from the bartender and made my way upstairs . To my suprise and delight, it was Zoe sitting behind the piano, and singing an Alicia Keys song that blew me away. We immediately hit it off once she was done her set, so well that the next morning I picked her up and drove her to get her car downtown . What followed over the next few months could definitely be called a whirlwind romance, culminating in an impromptu vacation to Cuba, where we not only had the time of our lives, but also discovered that we travel very well together. We spent the next year getting closer and falling deeper in love, and then one day Zoe told me that she had big surprise for me. She called out to me from the basement and asked me to come downstairs. Standing next to the TV with a bashful smile on her face, she waited for me to read what was on the screen . Two tickets to Montreal to see a band we had discovered together and both loved, skiing passes for Mont Tremblant as well as a full treatment at the iclandic spa, and an amazing condo rented out on AirBnB for us, right across from a statue of John Cabot downtown in Montreal. She told me to make a reservation at any restaurants I wanted . After spending most of my adult life working in restaurants, you can bet that I know quite a bit about them and where the best places to eat are. My most wanted restaurant ; Au Pied de Cochon. What an amazing suprise, I was actually shaking with emotion .

It was at this moment that I realized that I had found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I made the descision that I would propose to Zoe in Montreal in some spectacular fashion, and went to her Mother to tell her my plans, and ask her permission. In Zoe's early 20s, her father Donald Balsom sadly passed away. Her Mother had the incredibly selfless and generous idea to give me the engagement ring that Donald had given her when he proposed to her, and i spent the next 3 weeks carrying it in my pocket, checking every few minutes to make sure it was still there. There was a harrowing few minutes when I realized I would have to empty my pockets at the airport security check. Luckily, she was sent to a seperate line and didn't have a chance to see what I was so desperate to hide from her.

We landed in Montreal on friday afternoon, with plans for the concert on Saturday and Skiing on Sunday, as well as the restaurant reservations we had.

That evening, we got the upsetting news . Quebec was being overrun with Covid-19 cases, and the government was deciding to start closing up shop on basically everything. The concert was cancelled. The Mountain was closed. The spa was closed. Even the pool and sauna and gym in our condo became inaccessible. We looked at eachother in shocked disbelief . What were we going to do now? Make the best of a bad situation. And thats exactly what we did. We had a great time on Saturday exploring Montreal and checking out some of the cafes, bakeries, and restaurants that were still open.

I was super excited when I awoke on Sunday morning - only 10 hours until our reservation at the restaurant I had been dying to eat at for over 10 years. I was bursting with anticipation by the time we arrived. We had one of the most insanely incredible meals of both of our lives , and my heart began to race as the end of our meal approached. My plan was to propose at the end of dinner. But before I could start to do my thing, Zoe reached across the table and took both of my hands in hers. She stared deeply into my eyes as she began to tell me how much our relationship meant to her, and how very important I had become to her. All of a sudden she took a deep breath and stood up from the table. As I realized what was happening, I felt my heart thumping in my chest so hard that I was sure the people sitting around us could hear it. She dropped down on one knee and produced a beautiful ring, the reflection of diamonds shining in her eyes. She asked me, "Will you marry me?" Instead of answering her immediately, I slowly stood up and pushed the chair away from the table. I reached into my pocket and pulled out her Fathers ring, and asked in reply , "Will you marry ME?" Zoe was in such shock at this point that she didnt even process the ring I had in my hand. I had to wave it around in front of her until she realized what was happening. I heard gasps from the table behind us, even an exclamation of " HOLY SHIT!", from the busboy was heard. Once we finally sat back in our chairs, the bartender began to vigorously ring a bell behind the bar, and we got an extremely raucous round of cheering and applause. The Manager showed up at our table to congratulate us with a beautiful bottle of champagne, on the house. It was, without a question or doubt, the best day of my life.

We arrived back in Newfoundland to more shut-downs and Covid Craziness, but have managed to keep ourselves busy and our heads above water, and we have many people to thank for that, chiefly Zoes Mother, Sharon, and my parents Gary and Leisa.

Now that everyone knows a little about our story, we come to the point of this fundraiser.

Zoe and I are currently working towards our shared dream of having our very own hobby farm. We live in Outer Cove on a nice little plot of land by the ocean, overlooking Outer Cove beach. Over the last couple years, we have worked tirelessly on our time off to develop as much as we can of this little dream of ours. We are currently the proud owners of 8 chickens, and two unbelievably cute pygmy goats, Punch and Judy ( PunchandJudyNfld on Instagram for those interested!) . Excitingly, Judy has become pregnant and is due to have little goat babies shortly after the wedding. We have lots and lots of plans to expand the farm, which we have lovingly named the Briney Acre Farm. We plan to raise pigs and ducks, in addition to the goats and chickens, and build a green house so we can grow beautiful micro greens and vegetables. We want to set aside a small piece of the farm for a community garden. We have dreams of working with disadvantaged and troubled children and families, and providing all kinds of food products and services to the community.

Instead of going the traditional route of creating a gift registry, we decided the most beneficial thing to do would be to set up this fundraiser with the goal of raising money towards the dream of this farm, and what it can become with your help. Any amount donated will be greatly appreciated, and we would like to thank everyone who considers donating to this cause.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this, and both Zoe and I can't wait to see everyone in September. I hope everyone has an amazing summer, we love you all and take care!