Come celebrate with us!

Between Blue Jackets games, blue grass evenings at the Rambling House and bowling dates on the weekends, Michael was quick to do it all. While we initially bonded over hockey and an enjoyment for hiking, it was his sensitive heart, love for his family, and desire to know and care for me fully that I quickly began to fall in love with. Becoming my best friend and better half, my busy life brings him out of the house and into my adventures as he has equally helped me to slow down and find rest. While our life together thus far has not always felt easy, it has been our conscious effort to put our trust and faith in the Lord to strengthen and guide our love. With the company of our friends and family, I can not wait to say "I do!"

I've known that I wanted to marry Emma since early in our relationship. I distinctly remember calling my mother on my way home from work one day, saying that I knew Emma was the one. Throughout our relationship I have never felt more sure of my love and compassion for her while also feeling that love reciprocated back to me, never feeling that doubt or the "what if's" a lot of us know from our past. We had been talking about traveling to Hawaii for a few months before finally booking our trip in early November. We hoped that by scheduling in the beginning of February, COVID would be diminishing and travel would be back to normal. As soon as this trip was booked I got the ring. I had planned for months that this is where I wanted to pop the question. Hawaii was someplace new to us. I wanted the place we made this commitment to each other to be somewhere we wouldn't go very often - an unexplored and new adventure for the both of us as we take this next step in our lives. The ring had set in my bedside drawer and also a boot in the closet as I tried to hide it from her for what felt like forever. While I wanted to give her the ring, I also knew that I wanted to wait for our trip. Thankfully the months flew by. COVID tested, packed, and ready to go, we boarded the plane and were off to paradise. My first initial thought was to propose the first day so that we could enjoy every moment in Maui as an engaged couple but I just never felt like it was the right moment. There were a few days that I even had the ring in my pocket but it just didn't feel like the right time. Finally, after dinner I couldn't wait any longer, I asked her if she wanted to go down to the beach and by this time is was dark sadly but we just sat and watched the stars while having goofy conversations as we typically do. As we stood up to go back inside I awkwardly got to one knee having her pull me out of the sand and asked her if she would marry me. Luckily, she said yes.

On March 12th, 2021, in the company of a small group of immediate family, we legally said our "I do's". With some uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 and an ever-changing climate surrounding the pandemic, we knew one thing was for certain, our love and commitment to one another. Just prior to departing for Maui, Michael and I received the very unexpected yet exciting news that we would soon be parents. We are overjoyed for baby Spanos' arrival in September! Still desiring to share the excitement of our love and growing family with our own family and friends, we are eager to renew our vows in July in the company of those who mean the most to us. We hope that you will join us in this celebration, as an evening of dinner, dancing and drinks will follow.