March 1st-3rd, 2024

9 years of friendship, 8 years of love, & forever to come

We met first met back in 2014, thanks to our mutual best friend, Kelsey Gruis. Tessa was halfway through undergrad at UW and Kaleb had just graduated from UW that year. As a member of the fraternity SAE, Kaleb and his fraternity brothers continued to hold house parties after graduation at "The Villa" as well as "The Penthouse" which Kelsey brought Tessa to a few times over the years. After many late nights of re-meeting each other and talks of hanging out sometime, they had their "first date" on December 2, 2014 where they saw Interstellar at the Pacific Science Center, IMAX. They went dutch and each paid for their own ticket so Tessa wasn't convinced this was a date at the time. A few weeks later, they went skiing for the first time together at Stevens Pass on December 30, 2014 and that was when they knew this was really going to turn into something. They had each been searching for a soulmate that could ski, and we mean, really ski; after many turns down the hill together where they kept the same pace and style, the rest was truly history.

2015: Tessa & Kaleb ventured up to Whistler for "college weekend" over MLK weekend and hit it off. After spending the weekend together skiing, eating, and hanging out with friends, the first night back in Seattle, Kaleb & Tessa decided they really liked spending time together and officially began dating on January 19th. Just a few months into the year, Kaleb joined Tessa's family on an April vacation abroad to Puerto Vallarta, Mexcio where Kaleb instantly became a part of the family. In May of 2015 they attended Sasquatch Music Festival at The Gorge with a large handful of their closest friends. Then, in August, Tessa made the decision to study abroad. Rather than adding a challenge to their relationship, Kaleb surprised Tessa by buying a plane ticket directly to New Zealand, to visit Tessa abroad. In September, Tessa started her final year of undergrad while Kaleb enrolled in North Kitsap's fire academy. In November, Tessa turned 21 and the couple could fiiiinally enjoy a beer together.

Tessa & Kaleb took their first vacation as a couple and went to Coachella in April. Tessa graduated from college in June, where Kaleb rooted her on. Then, Kaleb graduated from fire academy and was officially hired on as a professional firefighter at North Kitsap in July, where Tessa rooted him on. They truly are each others biggest cheerleader.

Tessa surprised Kaleb with a trip to Mariners Spring training in March and the couple returned to Coachella in April. This was also the year of hikes, where they completed a different hike, for 7 weeks in a row between the months of May-June. They celebrated Kaleb's 25th birthday in August by flying to Las Vegas for the first time together. In October, they moved in together to their tiny little Edmonds apartment that they absolutely loved. In November, Kaleb spent the first big holiday with Tessa's family, Thanksgiving where he helped carve the turkey, alongside Tessa's dad. Albeit a sad part of their story, Tessa unexpectedly lost her dad in December of this year and Kaleb was her rock, holding her steady and guiding her through this time, providing all the love and comfort his heart had for her.

Tessa & Kaleb started off the year traveling back to Puerto Vallarta together in February to celebrate the marriage of Tessa's sister, Britt and now-brother-in-law, Adam and wrapped up 2018 with a Christmas trip to Sedona and Scottsdale, Arizona.

2019 kicked off with the couple's first big international trip! Kaleb spent 2 weeks skiing with his buddies Ankar and Brent, before Tessa joined them in Tokyo. From there, Kaleb, Tessa, & Ankar traveled onto the Philippines for a few days, and then Tessa & Kaleb traveled onto Thailand for the remainder of the trip with a stopover in South Korea on their way home. Many friends and family members told them this was the trip of a lifetime, but they're still dreaming for more amazing trips just like this one to come. In November of 2019, Kaleb enrolled in Seattle's Medic One Paramedic training program at Harborview Medical Center and the next 9 months brought countless nights of no sleep, as well as wild life-saving stories. It's easy to say that this was yet another challenging time that the couple got through and came out the other side stronger.

Tessa landed a role in her dream field of Global Health in January and Kaleb finished up medic school later that year. Covid-19 came in and shook everything up this year but they managed to get through it, together. In August they flew to Colorado to pick up Kaleb's new Jeep and made a week-long roadtrip of it back to Seattle together, making stops at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Telluride, Arches National Park in Moab, Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, Park City, and Yellowstone National Park. In October, they moved into their first 100 year old house together in the Phinney Ridge-Greenwood neighborhood of Seattle.

February was the month they brought their Phinney girl home and their careers as dog parents began. It's easy to say the first half of this year was focused on all things puppy training, as they navigated taking care of their new little heartbeat of a pup together. In June of 2021, they loaded up the Jeep with their new iKamper and embarked on a week long camping trip. They brought Phinney along with them and spent an entire week driving down the Oregon coast, all the way to the border of California, and then back up the coast, moving campsites nearly every day. On the very last night of the camping trip, Kaleb surprised Tessa with a hotel room, forgoing their final night of camping reservations in Cannon Beach. They checked into their dog-friendly, beach-front hotel with the most amazing views, grabbed a takeout dinner from Pelican Brewery and went back to the hotel room to have dinner on the deck. After a meal of burgers and beers, Kaleb had the biggest surprise for Tessa yet: on June 9th, 2021 Kaleb proposed right at sunset. After a few happy tears and a whole lot of laughter Kaleb told Tessa there was one more surprise and to grab a jacket. They walked down the street as the sunlight was fading, up to a local rental house where Kaleb's parents, Tessa's mom, sister, and brother-in-law were all there waiting to surprise and congratulate the newly engaged couple. The whole family extended their vacation by one day and spent the entire next day together on the sunny beach as our families grew closer together, creating lifelong memories, flying kites, taking photos, and smiling from ear to ear. Then, in June Tessa & Kaleb held their engagement party to share the news and celebration with our closest friends and family members, knowing they would have a long engagement, but wanting to gather everyone together sooner than later. In October, Tessa began pursuing her Masters of Public Administration at the Evans School, back at UW and Kaleb as always, rooted her on to continue pursuing her dreams. They wrapped up the end of 2021 in New York City, ringing in the new year from Times Square. What a year!

Tessa & Kaleb started off the year with two separate trips to Whistler where they ate, drank, and skied their hearts out. They even toured a few wedding venues in Whistler but none of them gave them that "aha" moment. In February, they toured the most gorgeously perfect wedding Venue, Mountain Springs Lodge and fell in love with the rustic lodges, snow on the ground, and incredible hospitality. Then, later in June they took another week long camping trip through Oregon to kick off summer, even stopping overnight at Silver Falls State Park, a place Kaleb's parents frequented as a young couple. They wrapped up the end of summer with another long camping trip out to the Washington coast. Then, in November they said goodbye to their Phinney ridge-Greenwood home and were able to buy their new home in the Maple Leaf neighborhood of Seattle where they live today.

Tessa & Kaleb kicked off the year with wedding planning and will likely spend the remainder of the year finalizing wedding plans. They can't wait to celebrate with you in early 2024!