Depending on who you ask, you might hear a different story… Elise and I can both agree that our paths crossed at the little gem known as Cannonsburg Ski Area. I remember being caught off guard by Elise’s beauty, and I probably nearly tripped on my baggy ski gear and clunky boots. From there I remember seeing Elise more and more. Elise would come into the skate shop that I worked at, we had mutual friends and we would often see each other at concerts and school events. Somewhere along the way we finally gathered enough confidence to meet up a few times in high school and it was always a good time. Unfortunately, for some reason or other we would never own up to the fact that we were meant for each other. This brings us to our college years, where once again we would cross paths, continue to beat around the bush and come up with reasons as to why it would be impractical to date. Then, in 2014 the stars finally aligned. Elise graduated from CMU and was looking to move. I was busy planting the seed that she would love SLC and that it is so much better than any of her other options. Around the same time Elise landed a sweet career with Overstock.com in Salt Lake and I knew that I could no longer let this relationship slip between my fingers. Elise packed her car to the brim, sent it west, and we have spent nearly everyday together ever since.

If you know Elise, you know she loves pop culture, photography, and a great Instagram moment. That being said, from the day she moved out to Salt Lake City she had always wanted to take a trip out to the Spiral Jetty. The only problem with this, is that it is located in the middle of nowhere… The trip was constantly pushed farther and farther out. Weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Luckily for me, this would now make for the perfect proposal spot. After obtaining Elise’s family’s blessing it was now up to me to put the plan in motion. I quickly filled Rich Fahey and Heather Scaglione in on the plan: To Elise, it would be a typical Sunday Funday activity with a great photo opportunity. To me, it would be a two and a half hour drive as a nervous wreck, hoping that this Spiral Jetty isn’t covered by water while trying to hide the ring. We made it to the Jetty and upon leaving the car I gave Rich and Heather a look of “holy sh*t here we go”. The suspense was killing me, so I handed Rich the camera, grabbed Elise’s hand and quickly walked directly into the center of the spiral with her. Fighting back tears I told Elise how happy I was that she was able to knock the Spiral Jetty off of her bucket list, and I informed her that I too had a bucket list item I was hoping to knock off that day. I attempted to summarize how incredible the past three years have been, how much color Elise has brought into my life, and how I can’t imagine life without her. I dropped to one knee, asked four very important words, Rich and Heather got the shot, and Elise said yes!