Let the Adventure Begin

It was Spring Weekend at UConn of 2012 - Ashley and Marko met through a mutual friend. Ashley immediately walked up to Marko, handed him her phone number, and said, "You're going to need this." At the time, they didn't know it, but that first encounter would lead to a friendship that would last 3 years before they both realized that they had secretly always wanted to be with each other. All it took was a text and a championship UConn basketball game at Gampel Pavilion for their relationship to take off!

Despite Ashley's best efforts to guess when Marko was going to propose, Marko managed to surprise Ashley in New York City on their favorite bridge in Central Park. Marko took Ashley out to Tavern on the Green in Central Park for brunch (while Ashley already had blisters from all of the walking and her poor choice of high heels for the day), and managed to distract her with a long walk around the park. Marko finally got Ashley to the pre-planned location, where he had his sister Maria there to capture the special moment on camera! They always passed sticky notes back and forth at their table at the library while studying, so Marko had Ashley look at a sticky note that said "I love you" while her back was to him. When she turned around, he was down on one knee. To top it all off, Marko had their close friends surprise her at the Library rooftop bar in NYC with champagne and a celebration. It was an incredible weekend and a great way to start their engagement!

To go on vacation in a safe destination and to start a new hobby, Ashley and Marko decided to spend some time in Lake Placid in the Adirondacks at Whiteface Lodge. They hiked their first "46er" mountain (Cascade) and fell in love with the area, the people, and the mountains. They have gone back multiple times to climb their 2nd 46er mountain, and 2 mountains in the "Saranac 6." When it came time to decide on a venue for their wedding, Marko and Ashley knew that there was nothing that they wanted more than to get married in a location that mattered to them. They knew that they couldn't wait to share their special place with family and friends on their wedding day.