Many of you probably heard the initial rendition of how these two met as Ali accidentally hitting Mike with her car and breaking his knee, but that’s not entirely true. The truth is, like most modern couples these days, they met on good old Hinge. Mike took the first initiative (liked one of her pictures- on his birthday!) but Ali was pretty skeptical. They went to dinner in downtown Portland for their first date and the rest is history. During dinner, they decided their second date would be going to mass together the next morning. That’s when they both knew this could be something serious. With their shared morals and values and a shared sense of humor, they hit it off right away.

About two months into their relationship, they decided it was time to meet each other’s families. Ali was about to travel up to Alaska to visit her family and Mike was heading to Sacramento for a family reunion. One night before they left for their trips, they made the spontaneous decision to take have Mike fly up to Alaska. Mike flew up on the plane on his own a few days later after his trip and she picked him up at the airport to take him home and introduce him to her parents and brother. A gutsy move made by Mike that certainly paid off. Ali’s family loved Mike from the moment they met him. They showed him around her little island hometown, and Mike quickly fell in love with the small town Ali grew up in. Sitka now holds a special place for the couple, as this also was the place they first said I love you to each other. Later that summer, Mike and Ali drove down to Grants Pass to meet Mike’s family. They showed Ali around their charming town and even took her rafting on the famous Hellgate Boat Tour. Ali was introduced to many of Mike’s siblings and childhood friends and was quickly welcomed to the family.

As the two continued dating and growing their relationship, the idea of marriage became something they both were heavily considering. They had been through many ups and downs together and individually, and through thick and thin they stuck by each others side supporting each other and growing together. They shared many adventures together such as traveling all around together- Arizona, Los Angeles, Skamania, Leavenworth, Hawaii, and of course the highlight- Italy. They celebrated each other’s accomplishments- Ali qualifying for the Boston Marathon and Mike making it through ACL surgery and recovery and then celebrating that by finishing his first marathon one year post surgery in Vegas. Together they went to family celebrations, birthdays, friend gatherings, and everything in between. Two lives merged together and they decided they didn’t want to live without each other.

Ali and Mike had been dating about a year and a half when they talked about the possibility of getting engaged. It was an idea they both took very seriously and spent a lot of time talking about and praying about. Mike finally found the perfect ring and waited for the box to show up at his house. His excitement was not kept a secret leading Ali to become suspicious it was happening soon. Mike took the time to ask all of Ali’s family members and close friends for their blessing and to show them the ring. He wanted everyone to feel involved in the process and made sure everyone was on board. On November 1st, Ali met up with Fran and Julia to go out for their usual girls night out. They decided to all carpool together, going to a “new restaurant” no one had ever been to in Portland. They showed up at the Baker Building, and convinced Ali the “restaurant” was upstairs in one of the rooms. Ali, very confused at why her friends had taken her to such a strange and empty place, still had no idea that Mike and her family were on the other side of the door about to give her one of the biggest surprises of her life. But when she opened the door, she saw a walkway lined with lit candles, roses and petals leading her to the love of her life waiting for her at the end. She walked up to him and he greeted with a hug and kiss as usual. He spoke about their relationship, how it started and all they had been through as well as dreams for the future, a future together as husband and wife. He got down on one knee and proposed and Ali of course said yes! After the two of them finished celebrating their special moment, she turned around to find her whole family and Mike’s sister were in the back witnessing the proposal. They toasted with champagne and the engagement season began!