Our Story

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Our story isn’t your Once-Upon-A-Time fairy tale. It wasn’t love at first sight. Elle didn’t fall head over heels, Pat didn’t sweep her off her feet. But you already knew that.

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So here is our perfectly imperfect love story.

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It all began one morning in November 2011. Elle was fresh out of college ready to save babies at Kiwanis when she met Pat during a first-day office tour, leaving a lasting mark. Pat thought Elle looked like an “artsy nerd” with her glasses; Elle thought Pat seemed like a frat boy in his extra tight polo. Despite Pat’s questionable choice of facial hair, what started as a little flirting over Google Chat led to our first date, first kiss, first breakup (of many 😬), and eventually blossomed into a full-fledged secret office romance...followed by a few more breaks. We were young and full of energy, choosing fun first and figuring out the rest later. (This seems like a great time to thank all of our friends, family, and bowling league for putting up with the two of us during these times—and for never giving up on us. Even though at least one of you did confess his feelings to his Uber driver, who turned out to be Elle’s brother…*cough, cough… Joey*) Despite the ups and downs, there was always an invisible string that pulled us back to each other time and time again, until one day everything felt right. At a SonReal concert on October 23, 2016, Elle said I love you for the first time. Flash forward through a cross-country move, four apartments, two dog-daughters, five more SonReal concerts, countless dance parties, and nearly a decade of love and respect—all leading to a waterfall in the Poconos, surrounded by our closest friends, with Pat on one knee. Obviously, Elle said yes and here we are.

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What started as an on-again, off-again relationship between two kids has endured for over a decade, through monumental highs and devastating lows. Through sickness and health. We still have our fair share of dumb fights (Elle stands firm in her pronunciation of “cement”), but we’re quick to forgive. We have held each other together when life tried to break us and celebrated every joyful moment in between. Oh, and that mark that Elle left on Pat when they first met is now a permanent tattoo of her name on his arm. Our story is far from your average love story, and we’re grateful for that. It’s been an adventure, one we choose to walk together again and again, even when the path gets bumpy. And that is what we ask you to celebrate with us in Sedona this fall.