We met online in the middle of the pandemic- definitely strange times to date. After a few conversations, we decided to meet in person. Our first date was at a local restaurant in downtown Tosa, where we currently live. I had back up plans with a girlfriend, Olivia, afterwards just in case it didn't go smoothly. We hit it off right away and one hour turned into six. We connected on everything from, running/ hiking, travel and adventure, to our dreams, and beliefs. Needless to say, we quickly realized how special our connection was, and I had to cancel on Olivia! Funny story- I got Covid and had to miss my family Christmas in 2020, the year we met. Because we had both been spending so much time together it was safe to say Chuck needed to back out of his family Christmas too. We spent our first Christmas together after 2 weeks of knowing one another, which consisted of frozen pizza, gas station ice cream, and lots of laughing and talking. This will remain one of our favorite holiday memories, and yes, we are keeping the tradition alive with frozen pizzas every year!

Our shared passion for hiking and the outdoors brought us together. It allowed us to escape the busyness of life, engage in deep conversation, push each other and see new places. We climbed Long’s Peak in Estes Park, CO all the way to Mt Chirripo in Costa Rica (by far one of the biggest challenges of our lives). I even proposed during a hike along the Mediterranean Coast in Cadaques, Spain. Day of the Proposal: We woke up during sunrise in a small fishing village just south of France in the Costa Brava region of Spain. We hiked through old ruins from centuries ago, through farm fields and along the rocky coastline. Ten miles into the hike we ended up on an overlook jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. I had been taking film footage on my GoPro throughout the hike and once again took it out to capture the moment that I got down on one knee to ask Stephanie to marry me. She said yes! She also said it all happened so fast that she did not remember me getting down on my knee. Thank God I have video evidence! As you can see, hiking and the outdoors is very special to us. That is why we felt it was fitting to have our wedding in one of the places we love, in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. We are so grateful to have you part of our lives and can't wait to celebrate with all of you!