It all started that fateful day at Coopers, a bar in the East Village... Nicole, a college Senior at the time, was out celebrating St Paddy's Day with her NYU friends near her apartment and popped into Coopers. Nick, a 20-something trying to climb the corporate ladder, was attempting to study for the CFA, but was distracted by the sounds of bagpipes outside his office from the St Paddy's Day parade. He gave up when his brother Kurt invited him to meet up for drinks with his cousin, coincidentally also at Coopers. At the bar, Nick "took a lap" to scope out the scene and saw a beautiful girl chatting with her friends. He worked up the courage to introduce himself and offered to buy her a drink. He successfully whisked her away from the group, and they chatted for long enough that Nick's friends came looking for him, which happened to be three Derns - his brother Kurt, his cousin Chris, and Chris' wife Michelle. To this day, we all agree it's a miracle that Nick and Nicole's relationship survived after having met FOUR Mad(Derns) all at once! Nick continued on to win over Nicole's NYU friends, say yes to all of her crazy ideas, and somehow keep pace with her college lifestyle. After four years of dating they officially became roommates, moving into their beloved Gramercy apartment, where they still live today! And finally, six and a half years later, Nick popped the question on a beautiful fall evening on an NYC rooftop surrounded by family, friends, and sparklers. They took it full circle by celebrating the engagement at Coopers - right where it all began! And now, they can't wait to celebrate with all of their best friends and family in Hood River, Oregon!

Nicole grew up visiting Hood River during the summers, since her family has a house just across the river in Underwood, Washington. Hood River is a world class windsurfing destination, which originally attracted Nicole's Dad and Uncle, who are avid surfers, to buy land in the area. We have been back to Hood River multiple times and have always found the nature and beauty of the Columbia River Gorge to be magical and restoring. In the photo at the top of this page we're actually at the top peak of one of the area's best hikes: Dog Mountain! We couldn't be more excited to share this gorgeous part of the world with everyone. We hope you think it's as special as we do.