In 2021, Kat & Neil were invited to go to Design Week in Copenhagen, Denmark, one of their dream travel destinations. Realizing the opportunity, Neil began to put together his necessary supplies: The Ring - For those of us who know Kat well, you know that jewelry is one of her passions and with any passion, there comes a level of...specific taste...that goes with it. Fortunately for Neil, Kat had already found her inspiration ring years before. Unfortunately for Neil, it was online, they hadn't ever found anything close to its level in person, and she was already obsessed with it even before it ultimately became hers. So for months prior to purchasing it, he had to play bad cop and convince her that her ring wasn't an option. 'I'm not going to buy something I've never seen in person', 'Who knows if we'd be getting ripped off?', etc. Feeling like she was sufficiently convinced, he made his secret purchase - and sure enough, a couple of weeks later when she checked in on the ring (as she often did), she very heartbrokenly told Neil that 'her' ring had been purchased, as it was no longer listed online. Phase 1 completed. Ring Box - For those of us who know Neil well, you know that making things and sentimentality are some of his strong suits. And in keeping with tradition, he had decided years prior to the proposal (in 2016, when he first started MassArt) that he would make a ring box for one of his projects, as an object designed to hold a promise. Made from an exotic hardwood, a slice of blue agate stone, and high quality leather, he spent hours in the wood shop crafting a large, 10lb, faceted engagement ring box that opened up to display Kat's dream ring against a backdrop of wood-framed, inlaid agate. Phase 2 pre-completed. Having acquired his two main necessities, Neil added in a DSLR camera, a microphone, and a tripod to his kit. This was, after all, the tail end of the COVID pandemic, so hiring a photographer in another country to document the occasion was especially tricky, so he would have to do it himself. He packed everything up into a special photography backpack, miraculously made it through TSA without any incident, and committed to wearing it absolutely everywhere, should the perfect moment arise. And on the second day of their trip, while exploring the scenic canal street of Nyhavn, such a moment did arise. Under the guise of taking some cute photos and videos of their trip, Neil set up the camera - dangerously close to the edge of the canal. And then, pulling a large cardboard box from his bag, he told Kat he had a gift for her that he had been saving for the right moment. He opened the cardboard box for Kat, who was already suspicious, and held up the faceted wooden behemoth of an engagement ring box that looked nothing like an engagement ring box. Kat, perhaps slightly less suspicious, listened as he told her all about how he made her this when he was in school and how he had been saving it hidden in the back of a closet for years. Kat - ever the designer - remarked about how beautiful it was, asked what kind of wood it was made from, how he had made it, etc. It was then that Neil told her that he had made the box to hold a promise and it was then that Neil - still anxiously close to the edge of a canal - knelt down and revealed that the subtle seam showing the box actually opened up. Kat's heart leapt as she realized what was happening. And then, as the unwieldy box fully opened, she realized that the ring inside was none other than the one she had been eyeing for years. Her heart leapt & the tears began to fall. The rest is sort of a blur, as Neil told her how much she meant to him; how no matter where they traveled, he was always home when he was with her; and possibly (hopefully) how much he loved her. He's not entirely sure, honestly, because he sort of blacked out through the whole thing. But Kat said 'yes' regardless, and so here you sit, reading through this lengthy blurb on their wedding website.

(See below for Neil's illustrated cartoon, telling the story of how we met.) Page 1 Row 1: We pan aerially across a striped awning and a bustling plaza full of people. Row 2: Snapshot scenes of a log cabin, old-time car rides, a slingshot ride, a looping rollercoaster, and finally of that same striped awning. Row 3: Below it, two guys lazily watch the people walking past them in the amusement park. Page 2 Row 1: An unnoticed noise catches their attention, as a small group of people walk up to their booth. Row 2: 'Look! Caricatures!' Row 3: 'Mikey, do you want to draw?' 'Sure!' Row 4: Two girls sit down. 'Alanna, you're up first.' Page 3 Row 1: The other girl looks around while she waits. Her attention is caught upon the other guy, and his with her. Row 2: She smiles at him. 'What great hair. What a nice smile. What cool jewelry she has on,' he thinks to himself. Row 3: They chat - about drawing and painting, about the leaves and the Fall, about architecture and houses, about many things they share fondness for. Row 4: This is how Kat and Neil met, the moment their lives would begin to entangle, and where the journey of our love begins.