Well, we've had two years to plan, and it's finally going to happen! We originally had hoped for a Fall '21 wedding, but COVID has other plans, and we were NOT going to give up our opportunity to party with all of you! So instead of downsizing or limiting our day in any way, we are celebrating in Fall '22! We were torn over getting married in the US vs. the UK, so we settled on Canada. Why not?! We hope you can join us for our mountain getaway!

As many of you know, it's a crazy, wonderful and long story...but here goes! I had arranged to take time off work and go on a trip to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland as a chaperone with friend and mentor Matthew's high school dance and drama class (shout out Reynolds!). This trip was nine years in the making, and I decided to stay after for some additional travel time in Europe...the obvious call. I invited my mom to join me for part of the trip, and before we could even make concrete plans she had her tickets booked, with one caveat: we had to go to Salisbury, England. Fast forward to the end of August and Mom and I arrive in Salisbury, after an amazing 2 weeks in Italy, and both recovering from a terrible travel bug. After settling into our hotel and spending the day out and about, I connected to wifi and found that I had a message waiting on my Instagram from a man who introduced himself as Dean and said he enjoyed my travel photos. I saw on his Instagram that he was a wedding videographer...and decided to respond. We chatted about the Fringe, my travels, videography and live performance, and eventually he gave me a recommendation for a dinner spot. I invited him to join us later on since he assured me he was "good with mums", but he was out for the night at a comedy show. Must have made an impression though, because an hour later he messaged to tell me he was on his way to Salisbury, and he'd see us soon! When we met for the first time it wasn't exactly one of those "our eyes met across the room" moments, but it was close. I was dancing enthusiastically with my mom and a bunch of random strangers, and almost ran into him standing at the bar. Plaid flannel shirt, bright blue eyes, great hugger...I was pretty much hooked. We talked and danced the hours away that first night, and haven't stopped talking, or dancing, since. There's a lot more to say, but the moral of the story is this: always say yes to opportunity! You never know who you might meet. <3

After a lovely quarantined spring in England, I finally got my ticket to head home June 8th. Dean and I always try to plan something special for our final days together, and he had the idea to take a picnic down to Salisbury for my last weekend in town. It was a lovely day, even with the promise of rain, as we gathered our picnic essentials (sandwiches, pickles, and TWO bottles of bubbly for mimosas) and headed to the cathedral. When we arrived, Dean picked a spot right in the middle of the green. We popped our bubbly, and laughed over our lunch. I noticed a photographer taking photos of the cathedral from behind us, and mentioned it to Dean. To which he responded something like, "I can't imagine why, going to be a terrible shot. Backlit. Contrast. Grumble grumble." So, it was a little strange when a few minutes later he declared it was selfie time. We took a couple of photos, and then Dean said, "It's not the only reason I got you up..." as he reached into his pocket, and got down on one knee! At that moment, I completely blacked out. I know I laughed at something he said. I know he never let go of my hand. I know I was holding back tears. And I know he asked me to marry him...but I'm not sure if I ever even said anything! All I could do was hug and kiss him and smile! The moment was greeted by applause from the cathedral grounds, as Dean placed the ring he had made out of a guitar string and copper wire on my finger. When we sat back down, I thought of the photographer I had seen, but Dean wouldn't let me ask her if she had captured the moment...with good reason, as I later found out. He surprised me with our engagement photos later that night, taken by his friend Leanne, who was there at his request to document our special day! To top it all off, my fabulous fiancé wrote out what he had said to me, and hid it in my bag for me to find on my journey home. The perfect proposal, from the perfect man, in the exact spot we met by perfect chance. Fairy tale status. <3