Hey family, The day we’re writing this is the 100th day before the wedding. We’d said months ago that we’d decide certain things by then, giving ourselves a deadline for those decisions… but we didn’t see this coming. (Motto of the year, right?) We wanted to give you all time to adjust, for those who have already started to make accommodations. Like everyone else, we have been following the coronavirus-related news for a long time, eager to gauge the risk and try to anticipate where we’d be in the fall. Initially, when we were starting to plan, we had figured that things would level out and quiet down in time. We’ve held on as long as we could to try to make the wedding celebrations happen while following state guidelines… but it’s gotten to a point where that is impossible, even if things don’t get worse. Hocking Hills State Park let us know earlier this month that they’re cancelling wedding permits for 2020, and in accordance with Ohio state guidelines the reception hall limited its occupancy by more than half. And so… rather than compromise on our ceremony and slash the guest list, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the celebrations in Hocking Hills. Not being able to celebrate with you is the last thing we wanted. This wasn’t easy, and was something we spent weeks deliberating. The good news in this case is that we are still going to get married this year, and we are so excited for that! We’ve decided on a small, private ceremony. Too much is changing to know what even that will look like; we’re starting to plan now and will see how it turns out come October. No matter what shape it takes, we’ll be thinking of you, and looking forward to when we can all get together again on the other side of this pandemic. We hope you understand and appreciate the support. Love, Katie & Mark

Mark: We met at work. Ask me sometime if you want more details. Katie: Oh my gosh, haha. Mark and I crossed paths a few times at work before we started getting one-on-one time together. Mark had a reputation in my old department for his know-how and experience, and some people were a little intimidated by him. I wasn't, and fortunately our now great friend Sidney, who was helping on-board me, thought to ask Mark to help us with a wild call we were working on. I was a new hire in Specialty Trading at the time. The call was to sell an unusual amount of stock positions, and Mark helped make sure I was clear to sell that amount and came up to make sure it all went OK -- taking time out of his day to do so. (To give you an idea, 20 stock trades in a call is rare. I was going to have to sell several hundred.) I made him laugh with how enthusiastic/excited I was, turning around to say to him, "Oh my gosh, this is so fun!" I could tell he was a kind guy. Over a year later the different departments' seating was redone and we were sitting 20 feet from each other. From his sweet potato casserole to an unintended double date and beyond, getting to know one another and growing close was easy and fun and felt right every step of the way. We haven't looked back since!

Mark: It was very romantic, on the top of a snow-covered mountain. Also, there were waffles. Katie: It was a chilly morning in September, with a thick bed of clouds spitting down on us. We had checked out of our hostel in Teton Village and had some time to spare before driving to Yellowstone. Mark had hinted about the supposed best waffles in the state of Wyoming up a gondola from the ski town we were lodging in, and we decided to go for it! We passed up through the clouds into the first snow of the season, had some incredible waffles at the cramped and cozy Corbet's Cabin... and when we went outside afterwards to enjoy the view, Mark surprised me from down on one knee. "Katelyn Juliann Savage, will you marry me?" he asked. I didn't hesitate with my yes. I was squealing with happiness, and didn't stop giddily bouncing around until after we got home several days later.