We're getting married!

We are just about 90 days out from our July 11th wedding date and we’ve been thinking long and hard about what we should do given the current situation. We are devastated to say this, but it no longer feels appropriate to hold an event with 175+ people traveling in from about 10 different states, with many guests who would be at high risk if they were exposed to COVID-19. Our venue has already had to cancel all events through June 2020 so we are anticipating that July 11th won’t be a possibility in just a short time anyway. We wanted to give our guests as much time as possible to reschedule any necessary travel. We’re so so sorry for how this might affect all of you! This is truly an unprecedented situation and we’ve really been struggling with trying to figure out the right thing to do. With all that being said, we are choosing to hold an intimate backyard ceremony on July 11th that will be available to stream for all of our guests. Although we wish we could share this event with you in person, we are still very excited for our new plan and we would still love to have everyone be a part of our big day with a glass of champagne at home! ALSO, we are (tentatively) planning to throw a huge party (it could also be called a reception, I suppose) once this whole thing is over. Stay tuned for more details, and thank you for being understanding of the situation. Even though the particulars are changing, we are still very excited to share this celebration with you! WE LOVE YOU ALL!

It was a warm, pleasant August night when Brycen and Lisa first met on the quad of Sonoma State University. Or it was a chilly August morning in class. Or it was actually night, but it wasn't in the quad, it was in a dorm room... Brycen and Lisa don't remember how they met. They lived on the same floor of the dorms, had almost all of the same classes, and started working at the climbing wall at the same time. While they don't remember how they met, the important thing is that they did meet, and quickly became close friends. On April 1st of 2012, they announced to the world (via Facebook) that they were dating. And naturally, nobody believed it until they confirmed it the next day, as apparently people are suspicious of announcements on April Fool's Day.

Lisa was completely surprised when Brycen proposed. Sure, she suspected it was going to happen when Brycen specifically planned a trip. Sure, she had told her friends it was about to happen. Sure, she had gotten her nails done in anticipation. But in the moment, she was still surprised. Brycen and Lisa drove out to the National Park, down Skyline Drive with sweeping views of Virginia on either side. They took a hike down to a small rock outcropping at the base of a waterfall that Brycen had selected months in advance (though he tried to act like he was still looking for hikes the night before in order to appear less suspicious, given that he is not known for "in-advance planning"). He cleverly kept the ring loose in his pocket in order to keep it inconspicuous, which is in no way inviting disaster. They rock-hopped to the small outcropping, water flowing on either side. After a quick lunch, Brycen decided it was time. His heart pounding, he told Lisa to stand up to "take a picture in front of the waterfall". Brycen stood up too, to fetch the ring out of his pocket. As he stood, he stepped onto the slick, wet rock that sloped towards the water, and slipped. Very slowly, he began to slide down the rock, into the water. In fact, it was so slow, that Lisa thought he was playing a joke until he was completely emerged in the water, wet from shoulders to toes despite the water only being a few feet deep. Brycen climbed back up, completely drenched, laughing, and suddenly remembered that the ring had been loose in his pocket. Oh no. He frantically felt for the ring, releasing a sigh of relief when he felt it still in his pocket. This obviously drew Lisa's attention, and Brycen muttered something about his phone getting wet. They continued to laugh about it, until a few minutes later, when they decided to try taking pictures again. This time, Brycen's feet stayed on the dry rock, he pulled the ring out, and asked Lisa to marry him. Spoiler alert: She said yes.