The Kurchak's

Our family's have been friends since the 1980s. Laken used to jump in to sing with John's parents in their band Midnight Graffiti when she was a kid, from there things took off! Fast forward to 2017 - At a concert at VOMA (a music venue in our town) where John's mother was singing for an event, Laken was introduced to John by Natalie, John's mother. Laken and John began talking that night, and the rest is history!

There was a concert in Pittsburgh that Laken really wanted to go to. After some deliberation with John, he agreed to take her to see the band, Tow'rs - a small indie band based out of Flagstaff, Arizona on their first East Coast tour. Little did either one know that they were both incredibly nervous for this date. After arriving an hour early to Club Cafe, John and Laken got to go in and meet the band before the concert. John and Laken grabbed their drinks and a front row table to one of the best concerts they'd been to. After everything was over, John asked Laken officially to be his girlfriend. Spoiler Alert: She said yes.

Quarantine affected everyone differently in our town. For us we were given the chance to be with our family that lives in our neighborhood. On April 24th, 2020, we had a bonfire in our backyard. John invited all the family over for a barbecue, and told Laken to look nice (aka. not wear sweatpants.) After the family, and the now Maid-of-Honor, Erika arrived. John pulled everyone aside one by one. By using Erika to distract her, Laken had no idea what he was doing. John showed everyone the ring that belonged to his great-grandmother and told them his plan. Finally, John pulled Laken aside, but rather than being quiet about it, he yelled out that he had an announcement, and got down on one knee to ask her to be his wife. Spoiler Alert: she said yes...again.