In December 2022, Nick moved to Calgary. Around the same time, Vanessa—then living in Ottawa—had a strange feeling she couldn’t quite explain: that her future husband wasn’t in Ottawa… he was in Calgary. So in July 2023, she followed that feeling and made the move west. Not long after arriving, Vanessa and Nick met and went on a few dates. Life took them in different directions for a while, but Calgary has a funny way of bringing people back together. They occasionally ran into each other downtown and stayed loosely in touch. In the spring of 2024, Vanessa found herself still building her life in Calgary. Looking for people to spend time with, she remembered Nick and reached out to see if he’d be open to hanging out—strictly as friends. Nick said yes. They met at Bank & Baron for drinks (the same place where we’ll now be celebrating our wedding reception). That summer, they spent more and more time together—movie nights, road trips, dinners downtown, and plenty of adventures around the city. Nick even became Vanessa’s regular “plus one” to events. All as “friends.” But as the summer went on, Vanessa couldn’t help but wonder if there might be something more between them. So in September 2024, she finally asked the question that had been on her mind all along: if they got along so well and shared so much in common… why weren’t they dating? Nick thought that was a very good question too. The rest, as they say, is history. Within the first month of dating, it was already clear to both of them that they had found something special—and that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. On December 3rd, 2025, Nick took Vanessa to Banff for a getaway in the Rocky Mountains (her favourite place to retreat) and popped the question. She said yes.