Summer of 2018 in Washington State had been as normal as any other that Laura or Nathaniel had experienced up to this point with Laura having quite a few more Seattle Summers under her belt than Nathaniel. Neither were Washington natives as Laura had moved to the evergreen State from her home of Indiana to advance her career as a massage therapist while Nathaniel, an Army medic, was only recently stationed at Fort Lewis. Of the many routes by which they could have met, fate decided to use their mutual love of theater to bring them together. Nathaniel was performing in a local production with one of Laura's friends who immediately made it her life's mission to set them up. Laura came to watch the show, not knowing she was going to meet her future husband, and Nathaniel performed without any idea that his wife was in the audience. After the show Laura and Nathaniel met for the first time. The introduction was brief, only lasting about a minute, but that was all it took. It wasn't like in the movies where time slows down and everything around you fades away and you know in that moment that you found your person. Instead, it was more of a spark lighting a bonfire that had been built over many years, waiting for the perfect moment to catch.

Nathaniel and Laura started dating early August, and within two weeks they were already planning their first international trip together. Laura had made plans to visit Spain for her birthday in February 2019 well before she had ever met Nathaniel, and, seeing as how well the relationship was going, invited him along. They bought their tickets which included a 24 hour layover in Dublin, Ireland without hesitation, but also with the flight insurance "in case things didn't work out." Little did they know, they had just purchased the tickets to their wedding. Flash forward two weeks, Nathaniel and Laura were head decidedly in love with one another. While watching television one night, Laura half jokingly suggested about just getting married while we were on our Spanish excursion, and to Laura's surprise Nathaniel said that was one of the best ideas he had ever heard. By the end of their first month together, Laura and Nathaniel had booked the wedding photographer and much to their surprise, the photographer (a close friend of Laura's) had previously already purchased tickets to Ireland for the very same week that Laura and Nathaniel had planned to be there. With what seemed like fortune's blessing, a wedding was set for February 18th, 2019 at the Cliffs of Moher, Ireland.

By this point Laura and Nathaniel had planned most of the wedding, but there was still a big item to cross off their to-do list: tell the parents. Laura's parents knew that the couple were getting pretty serious, but only realized how serious when Nathaniel called Laura's father to offer to fly out to Indiana to ask for his blessing. Laura's father said he'd be glad to meet with Nathaniel, and set up a tentative date later that year. That date came sooner than expected when Laura brought Nathaniel to Chicago for her mother's birthday weekend. Nathaniel was so nervous that he was worried his shaking would bring down the airplane before he even got there! Nerves were dispelled, however, after pleasant introductions and a day of birthday activities. Nathaniel was able to speak privately with Dr. and Mrs. Brinkman about his intentions to marry Laura, and with their blessings granted, Laura was able to share the delightful (and surprising) news that the wedding date was set for only four months away!

A wedding had been planned, the bride's parents had been informed, but there was still something that was missing...oh yeah! The engagement! Most people prefer to meet the parents, get engaged, and then get married, but not Laura and Nathaniel. They've been shaking things up their whole lives, and their marriage would be no different. Laura had reserved a cabin in the coastal lakes of Washington state for a weekend originally to spend with her favorite companion, Carl the Basset Hound. Now that she and I were to be married she figured she might as well invite her future husband. Little did she know that she was going to receive the official proposal that evening. After a day of croquet, oyster hunting, and Carl cuddling, a fire was built near the beach to watch the sunset and relax on a brisk November night. As the Sun made its daily journey across the horizon, Laura was handed a letter "from Carl", granting his permission for Nathaniel to propose to his mama. When Laura looked up from the note her husband to be was no longer sitting in his chair, but on his knee holding out the engagement ring that Laura's grandmother had worn for over 50 years. As Nathaniel slid the ring onto his beloved's finger, the seals in the bay started to bark and cheer as if celebrating with them.

Laura had the opportunity to meet the original Mr. and Mrs. Walker in the great state of Texas for Christmas that year. She was more nervous than a deer in October, but those nerves quickly gave way when she met them in person. Laura was quickly welcomed into the fold and by Christmas day it felt like she had been a staple in family for years. Nathaniel's parents obviously knew about the engagement by this point, but had no idea about its imminence. This news came Christmas morning in the form of a "Wedding Countdown" set that they had received as a present. After presents had all been opened, Nathaniel placed the countdown on the mantel and started to set the numbers from right to left. Five. Okay, no big deal. Five again. 55 and what? Would it be 255 days? 355 days? The suspense was peaking as Nathaniel placed the final number: zero. 55 days! Only 55 days until Miss Laura Brinkman would become Mrs. Laura Walker.

The thing about an elopement is that there isn't a whole lot of time for traditional wedding activities to include the bachelor and bachelorette parties. Laura and Nathaniel may not have had a best man and a maid of honor per say, but they did have two incredibly caring friends who made it their mission to make sure we felt like any other engaged couple on the precipice of their nuptials. Mark, Kendra, Laura, and Nathaniel went to New York City shortly after New Years to celebrate without the throngs of tourists crowding the streets. On the first night Laura and Nathaniel were surprised with gifts which included an obnoxiously large "Groom" button, a traditional "bachelorette" sash, "Future Hubs" and "Off the Market" T-Shirts, and a bottle of champagne to share. With these items in hand, the group had an amazing time seeing Broadway shows, walking around the city, and eating questionable street foods on the corner.

The day had finally arrived! After months of planning, and many days of travel the couple finally arrived in Spain to celebrate Laura's birthday as originally planned. That trip would require it's own entire section so for now we will have to suffice with saying it was incredible. The foods, the markets, the people, nothing could have set the young couple in the proper mood better than the sunny streets of Spain. In contrast, Ireland had the light drizzle and deep gray skies that reminded us so much of Washington. We felt right at home from the moment we stepped off the plane. The morning of the wedding went much like you would expect: hair appointments, coffee, getting dressed, more coffee, and lots and lots of photos. After the moments had been captured by Rebekah Albaugh's skillful camera work, the wedding party made their way to the iconic Cliffs of Moher. Needless to say we should have scoped the area out beforehand, because parking was scarce and the destination included a bit of hike much to the delight of the gorgeous bride in her flowing dress. All was well though and the ceremony went off without a hitch. As the setting sun dazzled across the ocean waves and spilled over the cliff's edge, Laura and Nathaniel each said "I do" and joined in that most holy matrimony of marriage.