Karen & Tarn: An Outdoor Wedding in Sammamish, WA

Years after meeting through an ad in the paper, Karen and Tarn celebrated their wedding with a rosy outdoor ceremony -- and lots of dancing.

THE BRIDE

Karen Waltar, a speech-language pathologist

THE GROOM

Tarn Faulkner, a software developer and nature photographer

THE DATE

August 3 There was something about a certain personal ad in Seattle's free alternative paper, The Stranger, that caught Karen Waltar's eye. It could have been that the "SWM" was seeking a "SF to share life's spice." Or that the ad was phrased as a recipe: "Some ingredients: the outdoors, being active (hiking, biking, etc.), cooking, music, dancing, conversation, pool, humor, spicy food." In any case, it was the first -- and last -- personal ad that Karen ever answered. The ad was written by Tarn Faulkner, and the two soon had their first date in a coffee shop. Six years later Tarn returned from a road trip to Florida, and over the next several days he presented Karen with different little gifts he had collected on his travels. Before he gave her the last gift, he asked her to close her eyes. When she opened them to see an engagement ring, her first response was, "Is this a joke?" (Her second response was, "Yes!")