Our Story

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Our Story

Answer

Ilya was the front desk guy at my friend's college apartment, and I immediately noticed him because he is extremely tall and very handsome. Our first date was in 2020 during quarantine, so we had a picnic in the park, and the rest is history.

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Our Proposal Story

Answer

We were in Croatia for five days, and on our last morning -- at 7 a.m., which should honestly be illegal on vacation -- Ilya insisted we go out for coffee. We walked down seven flights of stairs to a cafe that was actually a bar and only served straight espresso. Katy had been craving a latte, so we went to the grocery store next door, grabbed a crappy canned latte, and then trekked all the way back up those seven flights of stairs. Katy was uncaffeinated, crabby about being up at sunrise on vacation, and loudly declaring that Dubrovnik had too many stairs. Apparently, that was the moment that Ilya thought, "Yep, this is the woman I want to marry," because he proposed while we were climbing the stairs back up!

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What We Love About Each Other

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Katy loves how calm, intentional, and endlessly loving Ilya is. He truly grounds her in the best way. Ilya loves that Katy sees the best parts of him, even the ones he doesn't always recognize, and that her love helps him grow into that version of himself.