Why Donuts and Dogs? Y'all know that Head and the Heart song called Rivers and Roads? Over the course of our long-distance relationship, we sang that to one another a lot- and realized the tune matched up well with two of our favorite things - #DonutsAndDogs. Our story's taken a few twists and turns - we were living 2,200 miles away when we met! Here are some of our highlights:

(Michelle): A girl in Kentucky reached out to me on OK Cupid and asked if I'd ever heard of a grilled cheese waffle sandwich. It was such a good conversation starter, we haven't stopped talking since then! (Taylor): I sent a message from Kentucky allll the wayyy to California, to a lady who I thought was the epitome of cool. She wrote me back right away, and it turns out I was right :)

(Michelle) Taylor picked me up at the Cincinnati airport as I flew in to "visit Meredith" (For the record, I WAS actually visiting Meredith). She brought me a picnic of Cane's chicken fingers, waffle house waffles, and kale salad, since I was coming from California, after all. It was thunderstorming, so we ate our picnic in the car, watching the lightning outside at the v. romantic Western Kentucky 1-90 rest stop parking lot. (Taylor): A few weeks after we'd started talking, Michelle called and asked if she could come visit. I knew I wouldn't be able to travel to LA until the summer, but it didn't seem like we wanted to wait that long to meet in person. We spent the weekend hiking, I played Michelle a special song on banjo at the school talent show, she taught me about photography, and I introduced her to Calamity Jane. It was the best-first-date-weekend.

(Michelle) I asked Taylor to be my girlfriend on April 1st. We can't do April Fools day, she told me. She said yes on April 2nd. (Taylor): This is accurate.

(Taylor): I had told Michelle, about six months after we started dating, that I wanted to live in the same city for a year before getting engaged. I moved to Evanston in August 2017, and in January 2018 I flew out to LA and helped Michelle drive all the way across the country (stopping in some gorgeous national parks along the way). As soon as she got here, she started her countdown :)

(Michelle) It was one year after I moved to Chicago. We were in Puerto Rico, and Taylor surprised me with the last place we stayed. It was Casa Flamboyant, the most stunning b&b I've ever been to. It was in the El Yunque rainforest, in the mountains, and we could see the ocean from the patio. There was an infinity pool. There were waterfall hikes. There was a Labrador named Obie. It was perfect. We watched the sunrise together. I tried to go back to sleep, but Taylor said "Let's just watch it get light together." As it got light, Taylor asked me to dance, and then asked me to marry her. I said YES and I couldn't believe we were engaged!!

(Taylor): Not one to be outdone when it comes to surprises, Michelle planned a stunning local proposal. She flew my sister Jenna in from Denver! Jenna picked me up at school on a Wednesday afternoon, and drove me to Garfield Park Conservatory - my favorite place in the city. Suzanne was waiting with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. As we walked around the corner and reached the fern room, Michelle was standing there in her star shirt, with arms full of gifts. I unwrapped a book of Mary Oliver poetry, a poem Michelle had written for me, and to top it all off, a Donut Bouquet! When I opened the bouquet, Michelle asked for my ring back, then got down on one knee and asked me to marry her. I said yes (again!) and we spent the evening taking pictures at the conservatory and celebrating with friends.

Our wedding ceremony will be at Reba Place Church, where Taylor has been serving since September 2018 as the pastoral intern. We love the unique space, and are so thankful to be celebrating this day with such a beautiful, eclectic, and inclusive church family!

We are pleased to be working with Jillian Powers Photography for engagement and wedding photography! Images on this page (and our save-the-dates!) are from our proposal shoot at Garfield Park. Check them out at https://www.jillianpowersphotography.com/blog/2019/2/18/garfield-conservatory-proposal-photos-jillian-powers-photography