To all of our family and friends -- we are SO excited to celebrate with you in the mountains we love so much! We are planning a long weekend of celebration and activities, and invite you to join for as much of the weekend as you can!

We've decided on a very small, intimate ceremony and reception in Estes Park, CO, and we are so grateful to each of you for traveling to celebrate with us. Each of you holds a really special place in our lives, and in our future together. Given how infrequently we get to bring all of our favorite people together, it's really important to us to get to spend lots of quality time with you while you're here. As most of you know, we LOVE the mountains. It's where we fell in love, and it's where we escape whenever possible. To share our love of the mountains with you all, we are designing an Estes Park weekend full of beautiful scenery, outdoor activities, connection and love. We are intentionally keeping things very small so that our respective friends and family get to interact with each other at various times throughout the weekend and all feel this was not only an escape from everyday life, but an opportunity to make new connections as we create a new family together. Unlike many weddings where the bride and groom are often not part of the activities because they are preoccupied with wedding logistics, we want to be a part of it all with you - cookouts, hikes, brunches, water activities and more. We will continue to provide more details about the weekend as it nears, but in the meantime, we'd love for you all to plan to be here from Thursday - Sunday for lots of relaxed time together. Can't wait to see you all! XO

KIRSTI'S VERSION: I moved to Chicago in 2008, joined a soccer team with fellow Ohioans, met Kevin, and we pretty quickly both recognized the spark between us. We dated for a few months, but the timing wasn't right for a variety of reasons. I continued to run into Kevin over the years due to mutual friends, and I remember always feeling my heart race when he was around. :) Years later - once I was already in Denver - I attempted to sell a couch on Facebook and Kevin sent me a message jokingly asking if I would deliver my couch and "sweet throw pillows" to him in Chicago. That sparked conversation between us again, and quickly we were talking daily. The more time we spent together, the more I fell for him. We did long distance for a year before Kevin, his dog (Bailey), two cats (Winston & Oscar), and turtle (Myrtle) all moved to Denver to start our life together. I have never felt so loved, accepted, supported and understood in a relationship as I do with Kevin. He is my person. He "gets" me in a way I only dreamed of, and I cannot wait to marry him! KEVIN'S VERSION: To keep a long story simple, Kirsti is my best friend, my love, my person. When we met over 10 years ago in Chicago, we were both clearly drawn to each other, but circumstances, life, and youth delayed our love story. Rather than thinking of the years that are behind us, I get so very excited thinking about the years in front of us. I would like to write here about the choice to move my pets, job & life over a thousand miles away from Chicago to Denver, but to be honest it wasn't so much a choice as it was me acknowledging that love was the most important thing, and at the center of that drawing me in was Kirsti. She supports me, challenges me, and loves me with such a passion that I feel so very lucky to get to share this journey with her. She has helped me grow as a person, to communicate freely and lovingly and to realize that when the mountains call, answer them!

KEVIN'S VERSION: I had grand plans... I had the perfect spot for the proposal picked out - The campsite on the water at Lake Dillon where Kirsti first said "I Love You", I'd talked with Mary about what type of ring I would meticulously pick out in person... and a quick trip back to Chicago, where I would drive to Dayton and ask Mike, Sally (& Karissa!) if I had their blessing to propose to Kirsti. Then 2020 came and I found out the universe had little care for my plans. The result was, in a single word... Perfect. I proposed in a park across the street from the house where Kirsti and I began our adventure in Denver.. I did my best to get through asking Mike, Sally & Karissa for their blessing over facetime, while wiping away tears.. I traded texts & pictures back and forth with Mary in search of the perfect ring, online. While the journey wasn't what I had planned, the result was everything I could have hoped for... she said YES! KIRSTI'S VERSION: I legitimately had no idea Kevin was going to propose the day he asked me to marry him -- which is a pretty fantastic feat in itself given the fact that we spend every day together in times of COVID. I knew he wanted to marry me -- we had talked about our desire to start our life together many times throughout our time dating -- and I don't think the way he proposed could be any more perfect: a complete surprise on one knee telling me he "just couldn't wait any longer" to start our married life together and make more plans for the future. I think people across the park heard me screaming with excitement!!! We called our families and popped (lots of) bottles of bubbly that night. Everything about his proposal felt very "us" and I'm so lucky he asked me (and designed me such an amazing ring)!!