Our love story begins in 2021, but little did we know we had met many years before. Thanks to our dear friends and their persuasion we began dating shortly after our friends wedding in 2021 where we both were wedding party members. This was a long time in the making we later would learn.

We had or first date, October 4, 2021. Nate picked Courtney up for dinner and drinks at Rapids Brewing Company. Courtney had been proactive and researched the menu ahead of time to avoid any awkward "I don't know what I want" time. She found what she thought were sliders, but upon the food arriving realized she ordered a Double Smashburger (two patties- not two cutesy little burger sliders...). Despite the amount of napkins she used for the gigantic juicy burger, Nate still wanted to go out on another date. If his patience at the restaurant wasn't enough, Courtney was pretty smitten with his first date gift. No, not flowers, but rather cabbage and a bundle of chicken herbs for her chickens.

During our annual fall camping trip up the North Shore in 2025, Nate had something up his sleeve. Although Courtney was hoping, she wasn't sure if she would be leaving the trip with a ring or not. The trip was abnormally warm for October but we rode the Lutsen gondola to see the fall colors, explored the Lake Superior Commercial Fishing museum (highly recommend by the way), and hiked a "mountain". It was on our last morning when we got up early to catch the sunrise on Lake Superior, where the moment would happen. After a brief visit from an adorable Ermine, the sun finally made it's way above the Lake, Courtney was ready to get up and head back to camp for coffee when Nate asked her to marry him from their cozy seats on colossal Lake Superior boulders. "Of course!" is the only reply Courtney could ever imagine saying.