It was Friday the 13th, the last night of a Winter break Caribbean cruise. Michael was there with three of his best friends, and I was on a "family reunion" cruise. Our paths crossed a few times during the cruise, but it is only on the last night that we really met. We were at the dance club, "The Vault", when Michael asked me to dance. The DJ was pretty bad, but that didn't matter. We talked and danced all night, and closed the place down. We exchanged numbers and went our separate ways, him to Arizona, and me to Montréal. I don't think either of us really expected to ever see each other again. I did feel that we had something really special. The next day, Michael called me. I didn't have caller ID at the time - I was so surprised and happy when I picked up. We added each other on Facebook and started chatting. Soon, we were talking every night on Skype. We definitely need to make a very big donation to Skype at some point. I went to visit Michael in Arizona for Spring break (thank you mom and dad for letting me go!), and the rest is history. Here we are, after two years of long distance Arizona-Montréal, three years Chicago-Montréal, three years Chicago-Rochester, and now living together in Chicago!

Lake Lawn Lodge has a very special meaning to us. We have been coming here almost every summer since we met. Michael's mother Kelly and her family have been coming here for years too, since she was little. This is a place that is filled with great memories. In July 2020, we all stayed for the weekend for the 90th birthday of Michael's grandmother, Pat ("Grammy"). As we were walking around the resort on Saturday, we noticed that they were setting up for a wedding ceremony near the lake. It was perfect. I never knew they did weddings here! We started talking that night about how cool it would be to get married here. When we got officially engaged a few months later, we did not have to look far. We were both pretty much sold. We are so excited to create a new memory here and to share this place with all of our favorite people!