We can't wait to share our special day with you!

We met in the same way all couples looking for a serious relationship do, on Tinder. Katie sent the first message but Noah asked Katie out on their first date. We met up at a local coffee shop (even though neither of us drink coffee) and played board games and talked for a few hours. Despite Noah starting the date off with a handshake, we both thought it went well. A week later Noah invited Katie on a second date. We drove an hour and a half up to Portland to go to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. When Noah proposed the date he didn't think Katie would agree to go, and honestly Katie was surprised she said yes. It ended up being an 8 hour date with doughnuts, science, and great conversation. After our second date we both knew we had found something special and spent almost every evening together before Katie left to go back to Michigan for Christmas. A month after we met we went on a glorious hike on the Oregon Coast, it was January but it was windy, warm and sunny. We had lunch on a cliff overlooking the ocean, then walked along a beach to explore a waterfall at the end. It was there we made our relationship official.

For months we had been planning a trip to visit Sun Valley, ID to go snowboarding and so Noah could show Katie around where here used to live. In the months before the trip there had been much talk of marriage, we had gone to look at rings, and Noah had asked for Katie's parent's blessing (which Katie knew about). So Katie had her suspicions that he might ask her on the trip. We headed to the mountain to snowboard, we did the easiest green a few times so Katie could build her confidence, then we took the gondola up to the top of the mountain. On the ride up, Noah casually suggested we should take some pictures at the top of the mountain. At that point, Katie was pretty sure he planned to propose there, as Noah is never the one to suggest taking photos. A family friend with us started taking photos (but was really video-ing) while Noah got down on one knee to ask if Katie would marry him. She obviously said yes. The people around us cheered when he put the ring on her finger. We took a short break to send photos and tell people, before hitting the mountain for the rest of the day. In the evening we got dressed up and went to the ski lodge restaurant that Noah used to work at for a fancy celebration dinner.

Katie is currently getting her PhD at OSU. As part of that she has a fellowship which will allow her to work at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for two years to finish her PhD. So in January 2024 Katie and Noah will be moving to Sequim, WA for two years. During that time Noah is planning on going back to school. It's going to be a big change fo us both, but we're excited to have gorgeous new hikes, take ferry rides, and be closer to Katie's family.