The story between Mary Katherine and Ian began in late 2019 while working together for Baker Hughes. Through fate, the two of them were paired to work on a similar project together. Separated by over 1,600 miles between Houston, TX & Skaneateles, NY, the correspondence began innocently with business Skype messages. The mutual interest between one another quickly grew and before long, the two of them were chatting and FaceTiming late into the evenings on a daily basis. While Ian was content with waiting 6 months for the next company event to meet in person, Mary Katherine couldn't contain her interest any longer and booked a flight to Syracuse, NY in February 2020. The first weekend spent together included a lot of firsts- MK's first exposure to an upstate NY winter, ending up on the Kiss Cam during their first date at the Syracuse Crunch game, Ian's first time drinking wine that didn't come from a box, and MK's introduction to Ian's love of Applebee's where he went above and beyond to impress MK with his financial responsibility by paying for the meal with 2 gift cards. Within a week of meeting in person, Ian told Mary Katherine he loved her from a pub in Ireland after a few too many Guinness's. He booked a flight to visit her in Houston and helped convince her to move to Boston allowing them to only be separated by a 5 hour car ride, rather than a 5 hour flight. The first opportunity to spend a significant period of time together came in the summer of 2021 where Ian and MK spent 2 weeks together on a road trip from Denver to Las Vegas camping in tents at National Parks along the way. They had a chance to learn a lot about each other in a short period of time. Examples include: MK learning that Ian's least favorite outdoor activity is kayaking & Ian learning that MK can sleep through anything, including coyotes barking feet away from their tent in the middle of the night. As the years went by, the long distance relationship continued to grow stronger but it was time to finally move in together in 2022. Ian was able to finally convince MK to move to Syracuse. They packed up a U-Haul with a trailer to tow her car, and began the white knuckle 27 hour drive between Baton Rouge, LA to Syracuse, NY. After just 5 short months in NY together, MK was moved to Jacksonville, FL for work. Naturally, Ian's FOMO got the best of him so he packed up his bags to move to Jacksonville as well in December 2022. They had the opportunity to live together for 4 FULL DAYS before MK was moved to Lake Tahoe! Over the next 12 months, the plant in Jacksonville where Ian worked announced it was closing, Mary Katherine moved back to Jacksonville and starting interviewing for SpaceX in Cape Canaveral. The two of them loved the Space Coast area so much that they bought a house there before either of them had jobs. After months of uncertainty and stress, Ian and Mary Katherine both moved into their new house in March 2024 and settled into great jobs in the space industry. They have grown to love the new place that they live, spending their free time exploring all that Florida has to offer. After a year of living together, Ian finally did what he had been wanting to do for over 4 years- Buy an engagement ring for Mary Katherine and asked if she would spend the rest of her life with him. Through tears of happiness, she said yes! The Atlantic Coast of Central Florida has become our home. We have made so many great memories together over the past year here. For this reason, we are so excited to take the next step in our journey together in the place we live now. We can't wait to celebrate our love for each other with all of our friends & family by our side in sunny Melbourne, FL!