Gallery

We met at the end of July in 2019 at an internship and our favorite memory was staying up late talking in triple-stacked hammocks. :)

We stayed up late every night in the 3 weeks we knew each other and had so much fun!

We look so young!! Plus, babyface Shu <3

Katie's internship came to end on August 24, 2019. Her mom took this picture right before they left, and if you notice Shu's leaning in a little close, it's because he already liked her!

We remained long-distance friends, until August 28, 2021 when Katie went back to Texas for another internship.

As soon as Katie saw him when he picked her up at the airport, something switched and suddenly she liked him too!

Everything changed on October 17, 2021: the day Shu went back to Orthodox liturgy (shown here!)

Thus began the "Romeo and Juliet" phase of our friendship: we both liked each other, but couldn't date yet because we wanted to figure out our faith differences first.

This picture was a joke because we were the "parents" of the interns at the intern house, but we hoped it could be true in another sense!

Shu made dinner for Katie for the first time after she flew back from Thanksgiving travels in 2021!

Shu felt like we were setting an example for our friends of what a relationship should be, despite us not dating yet :)

We had so much fun just like in 2019! This happened right after Katie told Shu he looked like a baby giraffe on the ice - who's the baby giraffe now?!

Christmas of 2021, Katie left the internship again (and we still weren't actually dating yet...)

We actually visited each other a few times even while we still weren't dating! Katie loves this memory of eating donuts in the park with Shu's mom.

FINALLY, our first date! August 6, 2022. He flew to Nashville and even asked Katie's mom for permission first. :)

We visited one weekend each month, so our third date was in Texas, the next time Katie visited!

Shu always brought a rose when he visited <3 Every time, the first hug in the airport parking lot was pure gold!

Shu made his profession of faith into the Catholic Church on Pentecost of 2023! He had made the decision to become Catholic even before we started dating.

We loved getting to spend time with friends even if it took one of our weekend visits, and it was here that Katie first got to see how good Shu is with babies!

It felt like a dream to love him! The months were long and the weekends short, but it really gave our relationship a solid foundation.

Our first anniversary <3 Shu in 2019 never could have imagined we would get this far!

This was the end of our long distance - October 28, 2023! He got permission to work remote at his company, so he moved to Nashville!

The little joyful moments are so fun to look back on. We're both in shock that all of this is real <3

Getting closer with his family has been such a blessing! It was so special to see Shu's brother graduate his class of marines and I feel so lucky to have the best future in-laws!

Getting closer to *her* family has been a blessing! I feel so accepted into the family, to the point where I'm basically adopted.

We went to the National Eucharistic Congress in July 2024 which was truly transformative! It was so wonderful to get to experience our first retreat together :)

He proposed on August 24, 2024! Every detail was perfect and better than I imagined!! He even made the ring box himself!

This season of engagement has been very stressful, but there have been little moments of peace throughout, like this hike!

Shu's first pumpkin patch! I love getting to see Shu become a true part of the family - he was even invited to our family mountain trip!

We bought our first house!!! God blessed us so abundantly and it's better than we could have ever hoped for.

We are so blessed that also during our engagement we have found an amazing group of friends, which is something we had prayed for!! Truly, this is just the beginning of the rest of our lives together!