Chris and Dana have chosen to celebrate their marriage on two separate dates. On November 10, 2018, the couple wed at Wild Basin Lodge in Allenspark, Colorado in the company of their family and best friends. On December 8, 2018, the couple will be hosting a larger reception in Denver to continue the celebration with extended family, out-of-town and longtime friends, coworkers, and neighbors!

In 2016, Dana was working as a floor nurse when Chris began his 3-month rotation as a resident on the Adult Psychiatric Unit at Denver Health. While Chris was working so diligently to care for his patients, Dana quickly took notice of the strikingly handsome MD and began to intentionally assign herself to his patients so she could interact with Chris as much as possible. She would find any excuse to talk to him - from reporting emergent situations that needed to be addressed immediately, to casually approaching Chris to make sure he noticed the normal vital signs and blood sugars on patients. Chris would also make sure to be around Dana as much as possible, responding to every panic button call, never really leaving their shared work space (sleeping in a chair instead of a bed in the far-away call room), and learning all kinds of things (she really, really, likes Diet Dr. Pepper) about the smart, beautiful, hilarious, and take-charge nurse who would make their shared days simply fly by. Over the course of the next three months, Dana spoke often of Chris to anyone who would listen, including her coworkers, friends, and family members. Enlisting the assistance of coworkers, Dana was able to pick up an extra shift that “happened” to coincide with Chris’ last night on the inpatient unit. By the end of the night, Dana knew it would be the last she would see Chris regularly - so she knew she needed to come up with a plan. In true Dana-fashion, she scribbled her name and number on a piece of paper - with the idea to coolly pass it on to Chris. Of course, in practice, the exchange was anything but. Sweating bullets as she approached, Dana stuttered a “goodbye” and “thanks”, and likely rambled on about some nonsense before sliding Chris her number, feeling the blood rush to her face and bolting for the elevator. Chris was left elated and had never had a better 24-hour shift! Chris sent Dana a sweet text the next morning asking her to pizza and beer that upcoming Monday.

On their first date, Chris took Dana to PS Lounge, a cash-only dive bar with an attached pizza place. The two chatted about Psychiatry, their mutual love for all-things Jeep, their obsession with dogs (and cats), as well as their favorite beers and pizza toppings. Chris held on to every word Dana said about her life and education spent in Ohio and Chicago, while Dana fawned over Chris' stories about his childhood in Colorado and South Dakota and his ongoing professional journey that started as a milk man, to EMT and then medical student, and finally as a Psychiatry resident. Five hours later, they said goodnight and knew it wouldn't be the last time they would see each other.

A year and a half of dating, a new house, and 2 dogs later, Chris and Dana had spoken about marriage on a handful of occasions, with Dana simply stating all she wanted in a proposal was "my living room and my dogs". Unbeknownst to her, Chris had been speaking with Dana's Mom about an engagement ring. Dana's grandmother, Del Quill, had a beautiful diamond that Chris and Dana's Mom sneakily converted into a new setting over the course of several weekends while Dana recovered from her weekly schedule of 3 night shifts in a row. Then, on December 19th of 2017, Chris picked up the finished ring in anticipation of proposing to Dana over the Christmas holiday (Dana's favorite time of year). However, once that ring was in Chris' pocket it was burning a hole and he knew he could not wait even one more day, picking up Prosecco and a bouquet of flowers on the way home from the jeweler. After sneaking them into the house, Chris and Dana spent the evening with family and friends at trivia at Platt Park Brewery (the home of their favorite beer, the Madagascar Dream cream ale). The two returned home following trivia where Chris surprised Dana with the bottle of Prosecco, the beautiful bouquet of red, white, and yellow roses, and a gorgeous proposal on one knee near the beautifully lit Christmas tree... ...in the living room with the two dogs in tow.