We're getting married!

We met in high school, on the first day, in first period social studies. Tim asked to borrow Natalie's pen. He continued to turn around expectantly every morning, and she always had "his" pen ready for him. Tim and Natalie remained friends throughout their high school years, and started dating their senior year. (See adorable prom 2009 pics on the photos tab.) Tim and Natalie spent their first year at Marquette University together, but ultimately went their separate ways. They reconnected through a mutual friend senior year, and have been inseparable since. After five years together, Tim asked Natalie for a lifetime of jazz and cocktails, at home after a special evening at the iconic Green Mill Cocktail Lounge.

It has always been important to us that our wedding represent the blending together of two families, rather than just two individuals. We wanted our rings to reflect that. Natalie's engagement ring represents all three sides of her family. The beautiful marquise cut diamond was a gift to her maternal grandmother, Beverly Novak, from her maternal grandfather, Peter Novak Jr. The yellow gold setting is a blend of a necklace from her paternal grandmother, Agnes Fuerst, and the wedding band of her step-grandfather, Eugene Christiansen. On their wedding day, Tim and Natalie will symbolically give each other their families. Natalie will give to Tim the wedding band worn by her great grandfather, Peter Novak Sr. Tim will give to Natalie a wedding band with stones worn by his great grandmother, Myrtle Caspari.