The circumstances around Katie and Steve's meeting are uncertain. Katie says that they met at her roommate's birthday party at their house in 2013. Steve says it was later because Katie was too busy shmoozing at the party to talk to this mysterious newcomer. The world may never know. What we do know is that starting then, Katie and Steve began to attend a lot of the same parties, have a lot of the same friends, and even play music with some of the same musicians. For two-ish years, they saw each other around but never knew much about one another. That is, until one night when group plans turned into the two of them sitting outside Surf Club one rainy spring night. The more they talked, the more they were surprised at how much they had in common. They were both from the Northeast, played music from an early age, grew up in the church and in close-knit families. Katie was struck at how full of positivity and gratitude Steve was. Steve enjoyed Katie's unusual combination of confidence and sweetness. When they parted ways, Steve hugged Katie and said they should "do this again." Katie walked away, wondering if she had just been on a date. They've since decided that it was not a date. Their real first date wasn't until six weeks after that. The reasons around the long gap are also unclear. Steve says that Katie and he were both "out of town" a lot, but that they "were talking." Katie says that Steve was dragging his feet. Fortunately, it ended up being worth the wait. They met for brunch at Scratch downtown and then hiked around the Eno River. Katie told Steve that she and her family cover band, Von Fluggi, were playing at a Kentucky Derby party that night at a bar, 106 East Main. Steve said he'd come. And he did. He watched them play for two hours and afterward they walked across downtown to The Mothership (Katie's business) where a dance party was happening. They danced a whole bunch and then Steve, the gentleman that he is, gave Katie a ride home.

Steve and Katie spent two years hanging out and it was super fun. Then, they started talking about getting married. They talked about it for a few months and then Steve suggested that they go to the courthouse to get married before they had an actual wedding so that Katie could have health insurance. Katie thought it was a very sweet and fun idea. A friend later remarked to Katie that they were obviously a good match if they could both find romance in something as dry as health insurance. Katie agreed. On November 21st, 2017, Katie and Steve went to the Durham County Courthouse with many family members and a bouquet. Don't believe what they tell you. Courthouse weddings are very fun and romantic. At least theirs was.

Even though Katie and Steve got married last year, they always knew they wanted to have a wedding and even another wedding ceremony. Community and family are very important to both of them and though it made sense for them to go to the courthouse, they couldn't imagine letting the opportunity to celebrate with their friends and family pass by. The way they see it, marriage is about a legal commitment, but most importantly a commitment in front of God and their community. They did the legal part last year and now they can't wait to do the rest of it in September. <3