For a long time, Pat and I would not even acknowledge we were a couple. We were...exclusively dating. Not boyfriend and girlfriend - that would be gross. Everyone around us teased us for it, but it was true - we attended each others' family holidays, traveled together, and made the best memories, but we refused to declare ourselves...much of anything. In many ways, we couldn't be more different. I was in my fourth year of teaching English at Hobart High School. Pat was just starting out his apprenticeship with the Boilermakers as a welder. I talk constantly. He works with his hands. I knew how to ballroom dance. His cheesecakes far surpassed anything I'd ever be able to cook or bake. Despite all of these differences, we found things in common. Humor. Puzzles. A love of travel, of adventure. He taught me to kayak. I taught him to knit. He helped me love the community he grew up in, and I helped him expand his horizons. Fast forward four years, an "I love you" in the tools section of a Home Depot, a first home (and MANY headaches to go along with it), a beloved dog named Fitzgerald, a Scamp camper we're renovating from the ground up, and many, many wonderful memories in between, and here we are. Our relationship may not be what either of us expected - but we are happy to be binding ourselves together in the MOST official way we possibly can (besides our 30 year fixed mortgage). We're getting married! We are so excited to celebrate our love for one another with our closest friends and loved ones, and we thank you in advance for being part of our big day!