We got Married! now let's celebrate

We both served in the Frankfurt Germany Mission, and in 2022, we were assigned to the same ward in Frankfurt, where we got to know each other a little better. And no—for all of you thinking we fell in love on the mission—spoiler alert: we didn’t. Lea was known for giving free haircuts to the elders, and since McKay is always up for saving money, he gladly let her cut his hair. Every time she did, she’d jokingly say, “You should let me buzz it!” Right before he went home, McKay said, “If you ever come to Utah, you can”—figuring it was a pretty safe promise, since she lived all the way in Austria. Falsch gedacht. (So he thought...) About a year later, McKay had been home for a while, and Lea had just returned from her mission. We hadn’t been in contact, but McKay heard she was visiting Utah and decided to reach out. He invited her to a concert—Lea made it clear it wasn’t a date… but it kind of turned into one. Our second “non-date”? You guessed it: McKay let Lea shave his head—because he’s a man of his word. After a few more not-a-date hangouts, we realized we really liked each other. Those meetups turned into long-distance FaceTime calls—first between Austria and Utah, then Chicago and Utah, while Lea was working as an au pair (full-time nanny). A million calls later (Lea tends to exaggerate, but in this case, it might be true), and many visits back and forth, we knew we had something special. Eventually, Lea moved to Utah. McKay proposed, she said yes… and then we eloped. (But that’s a story for another time.) All that matters is: we’re incredibly happy, and we can’t wait to be sealed in the temple and celebrate with our friends and family.