Our story started 12-13 years ago... we never had an official "first meeting". Instead, we had mutual friends and slowly started hanging out more in big groups. As sophomores in high school, Caitlin thought it was the perfect idea to ask Michael to the winter formal, King of Hearts (girls ask guys). At a New Years Eve party hosted in Caitlin's parent's garage, she hung up a banner asking Michael to be her date to KOH. Not surprisingly, he said yes. A few days before winter formal (held around Valentine's Day), we were again hanging out with some friends. When it came time to take Caitlin home for curfew, Michael asked if she would be his girlfriend. Of course, she said yes. In his mind, it wouldn't be as awkward to go to formal if they were dating. Regardless, our relationship took off from there. After high school, we both decided to attend the University of South Dakota. Although we never lived together in college, we continued to both grow up and grow together, maturing as time went on. Upon graduating from USD, we moved back to Pierre. At this point we continued living with our parents, however, we may as well have lived together as we spent almost every day together we could. After a couple years of working and saving money, Michael continued to build his career in Pierre and Caitlin decided to continue pursuing her degree in medicine. She was accepted into Physician Assistant school at USD and was set to start in July 2020. In a mutual decision, Michael would continue to climb the ranks in his position while Caitlin moved back to Verm to start school. Long distance started, but he spent several weekends visiting. These were some of her favorite memories and she counted down the days until the next time he would come. With distance, COVID, and school combined, the year felt like 3 years, but she eventually finished her didactic year and was set to take on clinical year. This time, Michael decided he couldn't wait any longer to live with her. Our first "home" together was a townhome rental in Sioux Falls. While Caitlin still had some rotations away for several weeks at a time, Michael continued to impress in his career and eventually promoted into a niche position. He stayed true to his belief that living with someone is key before marrying them. Although he actually had the idea of one day marrying her a few years prior, it was after only 2 short months of living together that his decision to marry her was solidified. At this point he knew he couldn't live without her by his side. So he bought the ring. Then came the decision of when to propose. Given how long we had already been together, there was no rush. He felt it was right to allow Caitlin to focus on school and graduate before making any moves. Needless to say, he waited less than 1 month after graduation (just long enough to take her national boards), before taking her on a surprise "graduation" (not actually) trip to Cozumel. It was during this trip that he got down on one knee (33 feet underwater while scuba diving), and popped the question. Bubbles and tears ensued, despite being underwater, and she of course said yes! It was later that night during celebratory dinner that she also got confirmation that she passed national boards. Altogether, August 30th, 2022 was going to be a hard day to pass up. Since it had already been a whole of us by the time we got engaged, we decided there was no rush in getting married. A long engagement allowed us time to now purchase our first home together, allow Caitlin to start her career as a PA, and of course, plan and save money for this fabulous wedding! In our time together, we have had the privilege to watch many of our friends and family members grow their love stories and enter into marriage. You are our models. We're so excited that it's finally our turn (save the best for last?), and we can't wait to have everyone that has been with us from the start be there with us on our big day! Love, The future Hansons