Katie and Tim’s story began not with a grand plan, but with a Saturday pickup volleyball game at Washington Park in Denver on July 30th, 2022. Neither of them were exactly volleyball enthusiasts—each had shown up more for community and connection than competition—but fate had its own game to play that day. By chance, they landed on opposite teams. And by even greater chance—or perhaps a little of God's divine mischief—Tim, up to serve, delivered the ball straight to Katie. Ace. Then again. And again. By the time he’d aced her four times in a row, Tim’s team had the win, and Katie’s curiosity was piqued. Who was this new guy she hadn’t seen at these games before? Game over, Katie made her move. She introduced herself, Tim offered her a seltzer, and just like that, a spark was lit. Before numbers were exchanged, they swapped Discord usernames (because gamers do it differently) and started chatting about Valheim, volleyball, and eventually life outside of pixels and pickup games. A few conversations later, Katie asked Tim out for drinks at Union Station, and from that night on, history was set in motion. In one of those serendipitous twists that only makes sense in hindsight, they discovered about a month later that they were not only building a new life together in Denver, but they had grown up in the same hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina. At the time, both were preparing trips back—Katie for her father’s wedding, Tim for his best friend’s wedding—and it suddenly felt like God had been orchestrating their story from the very beginning. Fast forward 650 days from when they met. On May 10th, 2024, Tim was ready to propose. Katie, ever observant, suspected something was coming and kept her radar on high alert. Tim, however, had been carefully laying the groundwork. He had suggested, week after week, that they dress up and work from their favorite coffee shop next to the Denver Botanic Gardens—a move that both played into Katie’s love for a reason to dress up and, cleverly, kept her from suspecting anything out of the ordinary. But this time, instead of walking straight into the café, Tim suggested a detour through Cheesman Park. Fifteen minutes in, his steps slowed. Katie—quick walker, quicker thinker—asked if he was okay and placed a hand on his chest, only to feel his heart racing. Before she could worry, Tim smiled and said, “I will be, after I ask you something important.” He dropped to one knee and asked Katie to marry him. Her answer was an immediate, resounding, joy-filled “YES!” The surprises weren’t over. Tim had already planned a trip to New York City so they could celebrate their engagement with Katie’s closest friends—a gesture that made the moment all the more unforgettable. Just three months later, after a family visit to Upstate New York, Katie and Tim were back in Denver, curled up on the couch watching a livestream of their pastor’s sermon. Somewhere between God's subliminal message and the moment, they looked at each other and knew: they didn’t want to wait. The following week, they eloped at Cheeseman Park—the very place Tim had proposed. At sunset on Friday, August 30th, 2024, beneath two crab apple trees, Katie and Tim exchanged vows in a small, intimate ceremony surrounded by their parents and a circle of close Denver friends. It was simple, sacred, and perfect. Now, with their marriage beautifully begun, Katie and Tim are bringing the celebration back to their roots in Raleigh, North Carolina, where they’ll gather with family and friends to exchange personal vows and mark the occasion in the place where their stories both began and unknowingly intertwined. They couldn’t be more excited for the celebration to come, and for every chapter still ahead.