Katie and Michael met while participating in the SantaCon Pub Crawl. Katie was wearing an ugly christmas sweater and Santa hat and Michael was wearing a Buddy the Elf costume. Mutual friend Jenna Martin introduced them, and the rest is history! In the back room of Fadó Irish Pub, they struck up a conversation about running, their mutual passion. Katie invited Michael to her favorite running club, Rainier Runners. Michael invited Katie to his favorite running club, CSRD. When Katie participated in her first CSRD run, multiple friends asked if Michael was injured because he was running so slowly (Katie’s pace). Michael demonstrated one of the qualities that will make him an incredible husband - endless patience with Katie - while waiting in the friend zone for many months. Finally, he decided to take Katie on a romantic getaway to Orcas Island and they began officially dating. 2 years later, they moved in together in Queen Anne, Seattle. Soon after, their sweet fluffy Samoyed puppy came home. They decided to name him after the matching running shoes they’ve always worn, the Brooks “Ghost.”

It has become a Katie & Michael tradition to celebrate one or both of their birthdays each year by organizing a big group of friends for a vacation getaway. They’ve traveled this way to sunny Costa Rica and snowy Bend, Whistler, and Mount Hood. For his 2024 birthday friends trip, Michael decided he wanted to return to Victoria, British Columbia, where Katie and Michael had celebrated their second anniversary and done all sorts of fun things such as a 13 mile tandem bike ride. Katie was told that this was just another birthday trip. However, the other attendees knew far in advance that this particular getaway had a special purpose: Michael was planning to propose! He booked a dog-friendly wine tasting bus tour of the Saanich Peninsula and on the second stop, at Blue Grouse Estate Winery, everyone got into position. Michael asked Katie to go outside to walk Ghost through the vineyard together. Once outside, he dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. Her exact words were “yes, of course!” We are so excited to celebrate this next chapter of our lives with all of you!