Our Story

Coley and Seth met at Hampshire College in the Spring of 1997. At the time Seth was interviewing for a place in Mod 27 (an on campus apartment) at Hampshire and Coley was leading the interview with one other mod mate, our good friend Noelle. Seth got the room in the Mod and they became good friends the following school year. In the Spring of 1998 Coley graduated from Hampshire but Seth and Coley maintained a close friendship.

Seth moved to Boston with 4 friends after graduating in the summer of 2000. A year later Coley moved to Boston with her puppy, Doby, from Idllwild, CA. She moved into the house where Seth and 3 other Hampshire friends lived. Shortly after Coley moved to Boston, Seth and Coley's relationship developed romantically. It quickly became apparent to Seth and Coley, as well as to their friends, that this relationship was very special and was meant to last. Coley decided that Boston weather was, at best, unpleasant compared to the Southern California weather she had grown accustomed to. Seth decided that he was ready for a new start outside of New England so they packed up, loaded Doby into the Uhaul and moved to Hollywood in May of 2002. In May of 2003 Coley and Seth moved from their apartment building in Hollywood to a nice triplex in Echo Park. They adopted a beautiful Boxer puppy and named her Laila.

In the summer of 2003 Coley traveled to Korea to teach English in a 3 week summer camp program. This was by far the longest Seth and Coley had been away from eachother since the start of their relationship and it made them both realize how important they were to each other. They had talked about marriage in the past and discovered that it was definitely something that they wanted to share with each other.

While Coley was in Korea, Seth realized that now was undoubtedly the right time to take that next step and that he would propose in the next few months. He was torn about how to propose because, of course, it should be perfect. He had considered proposing at the airport when she came home from Korea. Amazingly, Coley had a dream in Korea that Seth proposed to her when she got back home at the airport.

Seth waited two weeks after she came home and proposed to her in Elysian Park, a park that they regularly take the dogs on hikes. He proposed to her on the top of the hill in a garden and presented her with a rose. She joyfully said "Yes!" and Seth broke out the two small bottles of champagne he was hiding. They had a blissful walk back down the hill and decided that their dogs would be in the ceremony. They are very excited about being able to celebrate their wedding with friends and family in Southern California.

Coley

Coley was born Akron, OH in 1975 to James and Jacqueline Lehman. She has a sister, Kathleen and two brothers, Jim and Tom.

Growing up, she developed a sense of indepence, activism and a love of baseball and dogs. She started college at Evergreen in Washington State but decided that it was not the right school for her. After a brief semester at Kent State in Ohio she ended up at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA.

She loved the opportunities that Hampshire provided and thrived in Hampshire's non-traditional academic environment. She concentrated in Child Development and Urban Studies. After graduation, she participated in a NOLS course kayaking through the Sea of Cortez in Mexico. She ran after school programs, painted houses, and worked as an EMT at the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program in Idyllwild, CA. In the Fall of 2000 she accepted a position as the Assistant Dean of Students at Idyllwild Arts Academy, a boarding school for the arts. After a year at Idyllwild, she moved to Boston to study Public Policy at Northeastern University Law School.

Once in Boston she decided that she would put off Law School for the time being and that it was not the best way become involved in child advocacy. In Boston Coley's relationship with Seth, a very good friend from Hampshire, turned into a very meaningful romantic relationship. She moved back to California with Seth and Doby in May 2002. She has been very happy with life in Los Angeles and has been teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School District for the past two years. Coley is excited her new position teaching middle school and high school English at Imagine Academy.

Seth

Seth was born in Rhode Island in 1978 to Bruce and Mary Engelhard. Seth has a sister, Ruth and two brothers, Chris and David. Seth's parents moved around the U.S. for the first 5 years of his life, from Rhode Island to West Virginia to Ohio. Then in 1983, the family moved to Cochabamba Bolivia to teach at a Carachipampa, a school for children of missionaries.

Seth lived in Bolivia for 7 years and gained valuable experiences and perspective during that time. In 1990 Seth's Family moved back to Jamestown, RI and settled in for good. After graduating high school, Seth attended Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. He was attracted to Hampshire's non-traditional approach to higher education and the freedom that it allowed him to fully explore many interests. Seth made many good friends at Hampshire, including Coley.

After graduating, Seth moved to Boston and accepted a position at Smash Advertising. He worked there for two years and learned about many different aspects of technology, design and business. When Coley moved to Boston, Seth and Coley's relationship developed into a meaningful romantic relationship and has kept growing.

Seth likes Los Angeles very much and has grown very intolerant of temperatures below 50° F. He works at Spacedog dabbling in design, web development and account managment.