Update: our re-scheduled reception and vow renewal ceremony has been set for Sunday, September 5th, 2021. We hope to see you all there, and can't wait to celebrate with you and share stories of our first year as newlyweds! Note: masks will only be necessary if you remain unvaccinated.

Morgan and Nick first met during their freshman year at the University of Notre Dame, when they both happened to join a little group called the Notre Dame Folk Choir. They became both friends and percussionists-in-arms, and by their sophomore year the two love-birds were playing shows together (Nick was on drum set when Morgan music directed and played piano for the PEMCo Revue), going to dances together (where the sparks really started to fly), and finding time to hang-out and watch movies (when they weren't doing schoolwork). They also grew deeper in their faith together: there is one night spent in prayer at the Grotto following Stations of the Cross in the Basilica that both Morgan and Nick still point to as the moment when they first came to know that this connection was something deep. However, it wasn't until the Folk Choir's tour to Australia -- where Morgan and Nick sang, explored, prayed deeply, and laughed heartily together -- that they realized that it was probably time to start officially dating! Through the course of their ensuing relationship, Morgan and Nick persevered and grew closer through bouts of long distance including Morgan studying abroad in Ireland in Spring 2016 and Nick's two years completing his MTS degree in Boston following graduation. Though they're grateful for the ways they were pushed to grow when living apart, they are so overjoyed to finally be able to enjoy each other's daily company again in South Bend where Nick works as a middle school theology teacher at St. Adalbert's Catholic School and Morgan pursues her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at Notre Dame.

After 4 years of praying together, growing together, and deepening in their love for each other, Morgan and Nick were absolutely ready to give their hearts to each other and to God in the sacrament of marriage. On June 26th, 2019, Nick invited Morgan to what seemed to be just another date night. However, instead of heading straight to Fiddler's Hearth (their favorite pub) for music and friends, Nick brought Morgan to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame's campus on the feeble excuse that "we needed to pick somebody up." (Who? Suspicion began when Nick actually said "Well, Jesus.") Once they arrived at the Basilica, Nick walked Morgan to a wooden bench nearby, where he presented to her an engagement book featuring all of his favorite pictures of the two of them together—so many memories of adventures enjoyed and laughs shared together, all in one place! She loved it :) The two then walked together into the Basilica, hand-in-hand, and Nick proposed in front of the Altar (see: picture on this webpage!). SHE SAID YES!!!! Morgan had made Nick the happiest man alive! (This milestone moment was captured by their good friend, the ever-generous and humble Annie Mattingly, who agreed to hide in the pews in order to secretly capture some candid photos.) After taking some more photos outside the Basilica, Morgan, Nick and Annie high-tailed it over to Fiddler's Hearth to see their friends—the Kirner family—perform. But when they arrived, there was yet another surprise for Morgan: a good dozen of her friends from graduate school had also arrived to celebrate the engagement! This now larger, even more joyful group celebrated with drinks, food, and great music provided by the Kirner family. The Kirners were kind in not only dedicating a song to Morgan and Nick, but by also inviting them up to sing with them (where Morgan soloed on "Holiness is Faithfulness," now one of Nick's favorite songs"). Faith, friends, fun, and a new future together—it was an incredible night!

Nick and Morgan had talked extensively before getting engaged about how the event should go down -- neither of them wanted to rely on the patriarchal and heteronormative assumptions that Nick (as the guy in the relationship) would propose or that only Morgan would wear an engagement ring. So while the world may have thought the proposal was over on June 26th, this couple had another trick up their sleeve! Some weeks earlier, Nick and Morgan had picked out a beautiful silver claddagh ring (a Celtic tradition) for Nick to wear as an engagement ring, and Morgan was just waiting until after Nick did the initial honors to repay him in turn with his own ring. Fast-forward to the 4th of July: Morgan and Nick had just spent the previous day driving 8 hours to Morgan's hometown in preparation for the annual Widhalm family reunion, and Nick had been introduced to (and fawned over) by a contingent of close cousins and family members. The night of the 4th of July, the group all went to the top of a parking garage in downtown Columbia, MO to watch the city fireworks display, and Morgan prepared to execute her plan. With the help of her stealthy sisters getting photo and video of the moment, Morgan took advantage of the scenic and bombastic beauty to tell Nick how much he meant to her and get down on one knee to ask him to marry her. In an iconic reaction, Nick immediately double fist-pumped the air and grabbed his ring from the box ("gimme!"), so excited to put it on and show it off! And show it off he did -- that weekend Nick and Morgan celebrated with almost every member of the Widhalm clan (at least 50 strong) at their annual fish fry. With the love of family supporting them, Nick and Morgan moved forward from that day each gifted with a visible symbol of the lifelong commitment they were preparing to make, more excited than ever for that day when two hearts will become one.