Freaking finally, let's celebrate!

We eloped last year, but we have been saving the party to celebrate with you! Please join us for a short ceremony to share our vows with our family and friends. Followed by dinner that will catered by Tastebud's Pizza Truck, drinks, toasts, s'mores, and lots of dancing! If you know us, you know we love to dance!

Hi friends and family, We have made the tough decision to postpone our wedding to next year (hopefully!). When we started this journey of planning our wedding it has always been envisioned to be surrounded by friends and family. We have tried to make many plan b’s and held on to every bit of hope that we could still have that wedding this year. However, we don’t want to put anyone at risk and safety for our loved ones is the priority. There is nothing normal about right now and we aren’t sure when we will get back to some normalcy. To still honor our commitment and what we have been looking forward to for so long, we have decided to still set a special day aside for us this year and have a small ceremony with our immediate family to say our vows. But, hold off on all wedding activities for next year when we can have a “traditional” wedding. Much time and effort has been put into our wedding already and we still want to have all those special moments and experiences with our friends and family. Like many other couples trying to get married during this pandemic, we are having a two part wedding to fulfill all of our hopes and dreams surrounded around this milestone in our life. We can’t wait to celebrate with you all! Stay safe and healthy. We love you all so much.

In May of 2015, we both happened to be in Lincoln City at Chinook Winds Casino. The TV show "Survivor" was holding open tryouts. Alex was there with some friends, and Ian was there with his dad. The tryouts for both of us were not the best, to say the least. The casino awards everyone who tries out $5 to play on the slot machines. We were both looking for the same game, "Deal or No Deal". Ian was sitting at one of these machines and didn't really have any idea about how to make it work, so he was trying to observe others and figure it out that way. Along came Alex and her friends, looking for this same game. She sat down next to Ian, and started to play. Ian sneakily watched as she inserted the playing card and pressed the buttons to make it work. He had a man-bun at the time, and she claims that if he had been wearing different shoes, she probably wouldn't have talked to him. They both play for a second, then Alex asks, "Are you winning?". He was not, but he was about to win it all. After using up their $5, they went separate ways in the casino. Ian went to play blackjack, and Alex went to get a drink with her friends. Alex then approached the blackjack table multiple times to keep talking to Ian, and to see if he would like to go hangout with all of them. We finally exchanged numbers, talked over the next couple of days, found out we lived in the same general area, set up a date later that week, and the rest is history!

Alex and Ian are a perfect pair. She is an adventurous spirit that loves to be outside in nature, and he is up for just about anything. This works out awesomely for us. In our first year of being together, we traveled to a handful of music festivals, and Thailand! Thailand was a dream come true. We got to see every part of the island, ride elephants, and go to a Full Moon Party. It is a goal of ours to go back because we loved it so much. The entire time we have been together has been filled with countless trips and experiences of a lifetime. From Florida, to California, Washington, Arizona, the Gorge, Canada, and Hawaii. We can't wait to see what lies ahead and the places we will see in our future!

In January of 2019, we went to Arizona for a "Birthday Trip" for Ian. Good misdirection, am I right? Before we left, Ian covered all the bases of asking her parents, and telling family and close friends that the proposal could be happening on this trip. More specifically, when we were going to visit the Grand Canyon. The whole trip Ian was nervous and constantly checking to make sure he hadn't lost the ring. The day finally came when we were driving to the Grand Canyon. We made a stop to do a hike at Cathedral Rock in Sedona. It was a beautiful view, and a great spot for pictures. We went out on a ledge and had someone take our picture. Ian was worried he had just missed his best chance. The drive continued to the National Park, and we began to walk alongside the canyon. There was a walkway out to the ledge where all the tourists take pictures, but it just wasn't the right moment to propose right then and there. We started walking up farther to another lookout point. There were a couple of ladies out there and Ian was very adamant that they were going to take our picture, even though Alex said it was fine. Ian swiftly grabbed the ring out of his backpack, told the ladies what was about to happen and asked them to get as many pictures as possible. They were very excited but did a great job containing it. As they start to pose for the pictures, Ian grabbed Alex and said some sweet nothings, got down on one knee, and asked her to marry him. She said yes, but before he put the ring on her, due to being so nervous, he slammed the ring box shut and went to grab his phone back from the strangers because he felt bad they were just waiting there watching strangers get engaged. Alex says "You forgot to put the ring on!", and Ian is very grateful that she didn't take back her "Yes" answer from before. All in all, it was a success!