What? Mig and John will already be married by August? Yes, the couple had intimate wedding ceremony in Tobago on May 11, 2018. Why? They are up against the clock! John graduated from law school on May 5th, 2018 (hooray!) and started a two-month prep course for the New York bar right after their mini-moon. John will need to concentrate solely on studying during that time... so having a summer wedding would not work. Also, because they are moving to London in autumn 2018 (yay!), they legally needed to be married before then with some months of cushioning for potential processing delays. While John is studying, Mig will be racking her brain trying to navigate through the pet importation and travel process (boo!). Their "Brown Dogs," Zara and Charlie, can't wait to see Buckingham Palace and sniff London telephone booths! :-) Long story short, that left them with one week in May to have a stress-free wedding ceremony. And because they only got engaged in August 2017, that left with less than a year to plan. So... Mig and John decided to have a small ceremony on their favorite island of Tobago and a large celebrate-the-newlyweds-bon-voyage-passing-the-bar (phew!) reception in West Virginia, where they first met. Make sense? They hope so because and can't wait to celebrate with you on 8-18-18!

Mig and John first met on December 15, 2012 at an awesome dive bar in Charleston, West Virginia called the Red Carpet Lounge. Mig had recently graduated from her doctoral program at Cornell University and moved to West Virginia for work, and John had recently moved back to West Virginia from Boston. They bonded over their love of dogs, beer, and fondness for political debate :-) Over five years of dating, they've made many varieties of homebrewed beers, Trinidadian pepper sauces, and scrumptious breakfasts, entrees and desserts. They look forward to making a home together since they have spent the majority of their relationship apart. Zara and Charlie, their Brown Dogs, will be so happy to see John everyday!

John and Mig got engaged on August 19, 2017 in Natural Bridge, VA. After a fun night with John's law school friends, Mig really wanted to go on a morning hike. John suggested the Devil's Marbleyard Trail, an 8-mile roundtrip hike with a beautiful formation of truck-sized boulders. It was a hot and humid day, and much of the hike was at an incline. By noon, Mig was just about out of water and a sweaty mess. She was ready to go home. They were headed back about 5 miles into the hike when they approached the Marbleyard. John suggested climbing the rocks for a bit. Mig obliged; she's always up for climbing things! The hot sun reflected off the rocks on onto the couple. After about half an hour of climbing, Mig completely was wiped and really ready to get back to air-conditioning. John asked that they sit on one of the rocks for a bit. He then pulled a black box out of his backpack and proposed. The rest is history! Interestingly, Mig got her second wind and frolicked for the rest of the three-mile hike! :-)

Your love, laughter, and company is the greatest gift of all as Mig and John celebrate their transition from long distance couple to living-together-newlyweds. Should you wish to honor them with a gift, a monetary contribution to their lives together would be most wonderful! They are moving to London in Fall 2018 and will build a home together from scratch!