We're getting married!

We have our dear friend Kendall to thank for our introduction who knew Michael from their studies in London the year prior. It was the fall of Michael's junior year at Pepperdine and Makay had just arrived as a freshman. We were both in Greek life and Kendall, Makay's Big, was determined to assign Michael as Makay's "Big Bro". Kendall gave Makay a big pep talk to be on her best behavior before meeting him, but it didn't seem to be a problem because Michael, uh, enthusiastically, took on his role as "Big Bro"- a title he was hoping he could trade-in for a new one ;) We spent a lot of time together that semester. We went on a few dates (including to each others' formals- see the photo of 20-year-old Michael and 18-year-old Makay below!) and had hundreds of long conversations in the library. Michael even reached for Makay's hand a few times in their one shared class! Alas, despite all of this, Makay was determined to remain friends. Despite the disappointment, remain friends, they did. They spent the next few years while Makay was abroad and then later when Michael moved to St. Louis talking regularly- often on the phone on Sunday mornings. Makay was adamant to tag along on Michael's boy nights when he was back in Malibu so she wouldn't miss out on any time with him... and yes she still just wanted to be friends. We still don't have a good explanation for this.

The autumn after Makay's graduation, she decided to visit friends and family in Missouri. During that weekend in St. Louis she spent extra time with Michael, talking for hours about her job and learning more about his (if you know us well, you know that we both like to talk about work!). When it came time for Makay to leave, she found herself in the St. Louis airport, looking at old pictures, hoping that her flight would get canceled so that she could spend more time with Michael. The lightbulb finally went off! Back in Colorado she continued to text Michael for a few months while mulling over this new epiphany. He was planning on visiting in January to spend some time in Colorado and finally, Makay reached out and said that he needs to push the trip up because it's time to see if this is going to work. Michael booked his flight. Makay picked him up from the airport. A few amazing dinners, plenty of dancing, good coffee talks, and one all day brunch later.... and we were dating.