Carissa and Mike met after college during an Ohio State Homecoming Weekend. Something clicked but they went their separate ways until 7 months went by when they found themselves together along with Alex and Andy at Hangout Music Festival. It was a magical weekend filled with shows on the beach and DJ sets in the Boom Boom Tent. But when Sunday night came, Mike and Carissa found themselves alone singing along to Mumford & Sons and a spark was ignited that would truly change their lives. They started their relationship long distance. Mike in Columbus and Carissa in Nashville until Mike finally made the move to Music City. Nashville will always have a special place in their hearts because it's where their relationship and their love grew to what it is today. Now, they have taken their love story to Seattle to live it up in the PNW until they get to their next chapter, wherever that may be!

When it was time for Mike to move to Seattle, Carissa and Mike planned a week long road trip from Nashville to Seattle. They would stop in St. Louis, Lincoln, Denver, Salt Lake City, Boise, Leavenworth and finally Seattle. The trip started off according to plan as they drove with Ryman in the backseat stopping at quirky roadside attractions along the way. They got to Denver where they planned to stay a few nights with Kyle (groomsman) and Becka. The night before they were supposed to take off for Salt Lake City, Denver got about 2 feet of snow and their route (which included a short stop at Arches National Park) was changed due to heavy snow and closed highways. So, they ended up having to take a detour all the way up to Jackson Hole, WY. This whole time Mike had been planning to propose at Arches National Park and then again right outside of Jackson Hole at Grand Teton National Park. All of the snow and road conditions squashed his plans but Carissa was still oblivious. They continued to drive to Boise where they stayed the night. The next morning Carissa went to walk Ryman and threw on Mike's coat because it was conveniently located right by the door. What she didn't know was there was something very special in the pocket of that very coat. Still, she walked Ryman and was none the wiser. The next stop was Leavenworth, WA, a small Bavarian-styled mountain-town about 2 hours outside of Seattle. This is where the proposal happened. It was Thanksgiving and nothing was open so they picked up some things to make turkey sandwiches and a cheese board and their favorite bottle of wine to eat and drink in the hotel room. After their "Thanksgiving dinner" Mike got up to get something out of his coat and before she knew it he was down on one knee. It was beyond perfect and a complete surprise and the next day they headed to Seattle where Mike had arranged for their best friends Andy and Alex to surprise Carissa for a weekend of celebrating.