Please join us on October 26 at The Confluence Resort to celebrate us as we embark on this next adventure! 825 Patterson Ferry Road, Hico, WV 25854 http://www.confluenceresort.com/

‎ ‎ Just to get it out of the way now- yes, we met online. It was January 2015: after reading his profile and seeing those striking blue eyes and handsome smile (and that he was just as nerdy as me), I messaged Hunter to see if he would want to get lunch one day. He said yes, so we agreed on the now-condemned Panera in downtown Morgantown. We had a great lunch, and our relationship has lasted more than twice as long as that place of business. Hunter paid, and then I drove him home. Just before he got out of the car, Hunter asked if he could kiss me, I said yes. I later found out it maybe wasn’t the greatest kiss on my part, but it obviously didn't scare him off. After about 10 dates over the next couple of weeks- including one in which I backed my car into the tire of a huge truck- Hunter asked me to be his boyfriend over Chinese take-out and a movie. I said yes, and take-out and a movie remains a very typical date for us to this day. We've been through a lot these past almost-ten years and grown together as people. We own a house, now have three animals, and have taken so many trips and met so many people. I can't imagine spending my future with anyone else!

‎ ‎ To be frank, our first camping experience together- and Zach's first camping experience altogether- had some aspects that were, shall we say, less than optimal. Because I'd foolishly underestimated the gently rolling slope of our site, we spent our first night locked in a losing battle against gravity. Because our dogs are spoiled and we're massive pushovers, we spent another night dealing with the gastrointestinal consequences of feeding Apollo a hot dog. And finally, because I'd selected a weekend in October for the excursion, the temperature happened to be below freezing for much of the trip. Zach, to his credit, was a trooper. Such a trooper in fact, that he picked this particular weekend to ask me if I'd like to spend the rest of my life with him. In the beautiful autumn woods, blinking back happy tears with bleary eyes and reeking of campfire smoke, I of course accepted. I remain grateful for a reason to remember that trip fondly- and also that our subsequent camping excursions have been more successful in maintaining the minimal level of creature comforts we require. Although given the date of our wedding, we may have been slow to learn some of the lessons we took away from that trip. Here's hoping the weather this October is better!