We’re excited to invite you to a casual drop-in reception and housewarming party at our home on Saturday, June 21st from 4 to 10 p.m. Come by when you can—we’ll have yard games, good company, and a food truck on-site where you can purchase something to eat or drink. It’s a fun full-circle moment for us, since it’s the very same food cart where we had our first date! Bring a camping chair or picnic blanket if you’d like to relax and hang out in the yard with us. This weekend is a celebration of our marriage, the start of our life together, and the joy of making this house a home. We’re especially honored to welcome family and friends of Tom and Laurie Nichol—Devin’s parents—and give you a chance to spend time in the space that meant so much to them, now filled with new memories. If you can't make it Saturday we will also have two bonus events: a Welcome Event on Friday, June 20 from 6–8:30 p.m. at Sunshine Mill Artisan Plaza & Winery in The Dalles, and a Hike & Coffee on Sunday, June 22 from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. at Mosier Plateau Trail, with coffee to follow at Randonnée Coffee Co. Come to any or all—we’d love to see you!

It all started many years ago on a high school mission trip to Canada. Devin first spotted Marie and promptly developed a heart-wrenching, movie-montage-worthy crush. Marie, however, just thought she had made a great new friend. Over the years, their paths crossed at church events and school functions—most notably at Devin’s infamous New Year’s Eve parties with themes like “High School Musical” and “Thrift Shop” (yes, he committed fully to the bit). But no matter how much time passed, Devin’s crush never faded. The summer after Marie graduated college, Devin—after much nervous rewriting—sent her a carefully crafted text inviting her to get smoothies: “a cool and refreshing way to get to know each other better.” (Yes, he was very proud of that line.) Marie replied in exactly three minutes flat—we have the receipts—and they hung out a couple of times before life took them in different directions. Marie had dreams of being a missionary overseas, and Devin wanted to be a graphic designer for Nike, so clearly, it wasn’t meant to be... right? Fast forward 10 years. Life happened. Marie returned to town and reached out to Devin to grab a coffee—purely as friends—to check in on him after he’d lost his parents. She thought nothing of it. Devin kind of thought of it as a date. They ended up talking for over three hours, shivering on the outdoor patio of The Wagon Social Club in Mosier, Oregon. Somewhere in that conversation, something shifted. They started spending time together often, and to Marie’s surprise (and Devin’s very quiet delight), she found herself with a crush of her own. From there, it all fell into place. The conversation slowly turned from if to when, and a year after that coffee date, Devin proposed. Now, they’re living out their “when you know, you know” love story. They spend their days surrounded by friends, family, and each other, with plans to build their life—and eventually a family—in The Dalles, Oregon.