November 21st, 2020 @ 3:00 PM Central Time: we will tie the knot in an immediate family & witness only ceremony at St. James Church in Arlington Heights. There will be a live-stream link through the church for anyone who wants to share this moment with us, virtually. http://www.stjamesah.org  Live Stream Apps: Facebook (St. James Arlington Heights), YouTube (St. James Arlington Heights) November 20th, 2021: Although we originally planned to host a reception on this date, the uncertainty of the pandemic forced us to reevaluate our priorities. The reception will be “postponed” until we close on our first home together - we hope to welcome you all over as soon as we can. We thank you for your support and patience while we have tried to figure all of this out. We hope it hasn't caused any inconvenience. It is definitely not what we thought our wedding process would look like, but we are very grateful that we can still get married, and look forward to when we can all be together! With Love, Pat & Mary Kate

There exists a magical place in the world, known for romance, elegance, and luxury. Where cheese curds are the finest of delicacies, and intoxicating teas are imported from Long Island: Normal, IL - the gem of McLean County and home to Illinois State University. In this little town runs a sleepy street only one city block long, but filled with destiny and memories. It is on Delaine Avenue where the story of Pat and Mary Kate begins... On this special street, Pat lived in a haunted house with 7 other fine and respectable gentlemen. Next door lived a group of hooligans from the northside whom the gentlemen quickly took a liking to, on account of their shared non-suburban backgrounds, and what could be described as a "neighborly" relationship developed between the two noble houses. Although they had rubbed shoulders at larger social events before, it was in the context of this camaraderie where Pat & Mary Kate's relationship, at least as friends, took root. In the year to follow, Pat and Mary Kate grew closer as friends, until time and distance separated them.

After leaving the city of Normal, Pat and Mary Kate went their separate ways. Until 2017, when both were hopelessly swiping for chances of love on Bumble. Both swiped right on each other, realized they still had each others' numbers, and started talking. They set a date to meet at Holt's in Park Ridge in early October, they spent her birthday together in November, and they went downtown to do a Chicago Christmas in December, where on the Clark Street Bridge Pat knew that he loved her... ...but since he's a big coward, he didn't tell her right there and then, and waited until later that night to say it for the very first time. However, he made up for the hesitation the following year.

After their first Chicago Christmas adventure downtown, where Pat first knew that he loved Mary Kate, they both decided to do it again on December 23, 2018: Christmas Eve Eve. Except this year, Pat had some special plans. This year was going to be different. In October, Pat went to Ray's Jewelry carrying a blessing from Mary Kate's parents, and a diamond from a heirloom family ring that was transplanted into an engagement ring Pat picked up in November. In early December, he called Cory, and they went over the whole plan for the day, as timing and direction were important, because Pat had hired a professional photographer to capture the special moment at a designated time and place: 7pm at Clark Street Bridge. The day started at an Elf-themed pop-up bar in Wrigleyville, and then continued to Wrigley Field's Winterland market. After Pat and Mary Kate made fools of themselves trying to figure out how to work an interactive art installation, they caught the Red Line into the city to explore the Christkindl Market, being sure to grab the annual collector's mulled wine cups (which just so happened to be heart-shaped). The activities were progressing quicker than the schedule, so Pat had to stall a bit and created the first transparent lie of the night to keep things under wraps: "Cory said that there's this awesome bar or restaurant that he used to go to when he worked over here. We should check it out. Let me text him for the name." Pat really said "bar or restaurant", but he really didn't text Cory. He led Mary Kate on a wild goose-chase around the city until it was time to get to Clark Street Bridge. Once on the bridge, Pat didn't see the photographer and panicked. He started babbling about Encyclopedia Brittanica and Mary Kate knew something was up. Once he saw the cameraman, Pat gave Mary Kate a "Ticket to Happiness", which said all that Pat felt one year ago on that bridge. Then he asked her to marry him. She said yes and they high-fived.