It was Spring of 2012, and the world had not ended on New Years Day as everyone had anticipated. Hannah was a freshman in high school and Christopher was a sophomore. As the bell rang and Hannah walked out of math class, Christopher (and one of his groomsmen) walked past her. Christopher said "Nice hat!" followed by an eruption of laughter. Hannah swears to this day that the felt bowler hat was, in fact, "nice". Later that evening, Christopher sent Hannah a Facebook message to officially introduce himself, and to tell her that the hat wasn't the only thing that he thought was cute. And from that hat, a teenage romance blossomed. In the Fall things had changed, as most teenage love stories do. Christopher and Hannah broke up, but kept in touch over the next couple of years.

On February 13, 2015, our lives changed forever. Christopher suffered the incredible loss his close childhood friend, Keyon. Hannah reached out to Christopher to check on him and his friends. They began talking regularly, and officially began dating (again) a little over a month later.

On September 5, 2020, after over five years of courtship, and several cancelled vacations (thanks, COVID), Christopher popped the question on a weekend trip. Hannah and Christopher had spent a wonderful night in Redding, CA, to visit the Sundial Bridge, Turtle Bay Exploration Park and the casino. Then, they woke up the next day to explore some of California's most beautiful waterfalls. Hannah and Christopher first visited McAurther Burney Falls and it was the absolute most breathtaking view. On the way home, Christopher had the idea to stop at the smaller, more secluded, Montgomery Creek Falls. It was the perfect moment, down by the creek. Christopher got down on one knee and of course, Hannah said YES!

This date is very special to my family. My Great Grandparents, Lawrence and Lucille Figary were married on August 28, 1942. In 2021, they will have been married for 73 years, my Grandparents, Pam and Rick Swartout will be married for 52 years, and my parents Paula and Brian Swartout will have been married for 24 years. I am forever grateful to have grown up with the greatest examples of what a marriage should be. Christopher and I pray that God gives us the opportunity to spend that many anniversaries together.

One of the reasons that we chose to get married on Sutter Street in Folsom, CA, is the significance of this location to the Kellison family. Christopher's late Grandfather Jim Kellison, designed and built cars, respectively called the "Kellison J" car. His first shop in 1958 was located at 905 Sutter Street, just a minute walk from the venue. Christopher loves to learn about his family's history, so what better place to get married than at a historical site?