Knoll Crest Gardens

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Our Wedding

We initially met on&nbsp;December 13, 2014 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, although we use the term "met" loosely: Anneliese was in nursing school and Andrew was working in the&nbsp;Democratic Republic of Congo at the time, but in the states briefly for a friend's wedding. Our initial interactions were brief - no kidding, approximately 4-hours worth ((if that)&nbsp;-&nbsp;but impressionable enough that when Andrew flew back to Congo, they kept in touch over the course of the following year via texting, phone calls, and Facetime. What started as a brief message of "Hey, it was cool meeting you, good luck with your project in Congo!", gradually became more invested. September 25, 2016 we officially decided, yes, we are dating, and in&nbsp;December 2016 Andrew visited Anneliese in&nbsp;Portland, OR.&nbsp; The sixteen months of long-distance dating that followed consisted of a lot Facetime and messaging, and&nbsp;two scheduled trips to see each other for a couple weeks at a time (first in Europe with Anneliese's family,&nbsp; then in Arizona for Lydia Wester's wedding). During those months of long-distance we learned a lot about each other and ourselves, though definitely tough at times and for sure not sustainable. On April 20th, 2017,nbsp;after stepping away from his position in DRC,&nbsp;Andrew arrived in Portland to pursue Anneliese, ushering in a new season of our relationship, one full of joys,&nbsp;adventures, certainly a few challenges,&nbsp;and loving and learning how to live life together. On March 25, 2018 while hiking Latourell Falls (also one of the first hikes we did together after Andrew moved to PDX), Andrew gave Anneliese a card&nbsp;to reserve Friday, March 30th&nbsp;at&nbsp;3pm for an adventure. The only detail&nbsp;provided was&nbsp;that she was to dress for the elements (potential rain, snow, etc.). To be of note, Anneliese was convinced that&nbsp;Andrew was going to propose that Sunday, while hiking...false alarm. On March 30th, after a motorcycle ride&nbsp;through the&nbsp;Tillamook State Forest that led&nbsp;to a stunning mountain top location, another beautifully written card&nbsp;(cue my tears), and one knee dropped to the ground, Andrew asked "Will you marry me?"&nbsp; More tears, and of course Anneliese&nbsp;said "YES!"&nbsp;

How We Met

Our Story

Portland Map

Map of Portland (Cool Sites, Wedding Related Places, and more!)

Click <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1tTPh2Y1Wb7sIY43Yk4UvVs4E2gXaXvJg&amp;usp=sharing" target="_blank">HERE</a>&nbsp;for the map!

Details

It’s impossible to find the right words to fully capture&nbsp;a “twin connection”;&nbsp;we are completely our own selves, while at the same time a part of ourselves is always held so closely by the other.&nbsp;My favorite memories together are our trips between Spokane and Portland,&nbsp;constant texting/FaceTime, and all of our shared activities growing up (especially countless hours&nbsp;at the dance studio and swimming in the summers). Anya lives in Spokane, WA.&nbsp;

Anya Boehning

I&nbsp;don't have a brother (or twin), but Collin&nbsp; is pretty close. Despite moving across central and west Africa numerous times, we somehow always ended up living in the same place.&nbsp;Favorite memories include exploring central Africa through&nbsp;hunting/camping trips and playing soccer on dirt fields. Collin currently lives in Longview, TX.&nbsp;

Collin Cone

Moses and I met sometime in the early middle-school years and one of my first memories with him is chasing rats in Home-Ec class back in 7th grade. Our friendship grew in high school as we were&nbsp;stuck next to each on the soccer field and more recently have been living together as&nbsp;housemates taking on the PNW and all that if offers.&nbsp;Musa currently lives in Portland, OR.&nbsp;

Moses Clark

Viki and I met my first day after moving to Portland: Kim and I had a gap of time&nbsp;before we could move into our apartment, so Viki and her husband kindly let us crash on their floor. This&nbsp;past year especially has been a joy as I have gotten to&nbsp;know Viki even better, and my favorite memory&nbsp;together is backpacking in the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Viki lives in Portland, OR.&nbsp;

Viki Bakker

Shortly after college I found myself moving to Eastern Congo for work where I&nbsp;moved into a team house. Almost to the day, Robert arrived as well, and for the better part of three-and-a-half years we worked together. This opened the door&nbsp;for a wide variety of adventures, including climbing volcanoes, seeing gorillas, and visiting remote villages. Robert currently lives in&nbsp;Boone, NC.&nbsp;

Robert Congdon

Liv and I met through Calvin’s nursing program and we lived together senior year, though&nbsp;I have truly gotten to know the amazing Olivia in the&nbsp;years post-graduating. My favorite memories with Liv&nbsp;are running together and our two trips to Hawaii; every moment I&nbsp;get with Liv (whether its in person or over Facetime/calling) is cherished.&nbsp;Olivia lives&nbsp;in Boise, ID.

Olivia Cordes

Kaitlyn and I first met during the “freshman orientation” at Calvin when we were sitting near each other with our moms eating lunch. After chatting for a bit, Mrs. Beukema said to Kaitlyn, “I bet you’ll become&nbsp;friends with her.” Now nearly 8 years later, Kaitlyn is still one of my closest friends, despite the distance between Michigan and Oregon. My favorite memories together are standing as a bridesmaid in your wedding and our many walks together over the years. Kaitlyn lives&nbsp;in Grand Rapids, MI.

Kaitlyn Hilbrands

Hap and I became friends back in 6th grade living in same town in the Central African Republic. A few months after we met, we had to evacuate and then tackled the transition into boarding school together. The years that followed solidified our friendship and although we haven't&nbsp;seen each other very frequently since high school, when we do, it's although a day hasn't gone by. Hap currently lives in&nbsp;Charlotte, NC.

Hap Ohlin

Casey and I&nbsp;met on the soccer field in college but didn't really develop until we randomly became housemates one summer later on. We have a lot of shared interests, but favorite memories include random meetings (such as Boston) and geocaching&nbsp;(it's a thing).&nbsp;There's few people in the world that genuinely take interest in you but Casey is one of them.&nbsp;Casey currently lives in White Bear Lake, MN.

Casey Thompson

Kim and I met junior year of college through the nursing program, though we REALLY got to know when I moved into her house and bedroom the June before senior year. Since that time we have lived in 4 different homes&nbsp;together,&nbsp;two different cities, and endless adventures, conversations, and laughs. &nbsp;My favorite memories are our road trip from Michigan to Oregon and&nbsp;hiking South Sister together.&nbsp;

Kim Kinzer

Mark and I&nbsp;met our 10th grade year of high-school and became friends through school activities, sports, and classes. Somehow, despite usually living on different continents, we have gotten lucky enough to meet up regularly and pursue adventures like 3000km biking trips and&nbsp;motorcycle outings.&nbsp;Mark currently lives in Veenendaal, The Netherlands.&nbsp;

Mark Walraven

Courtney and I met January of our freshman year of college, but truly became best friends when we lived together junior year. Courtney is one of my closest friends, and her humor, the way she is quick to listen, and her loyalty are just a feel of the things I love&nbsp;about her. My favorite memories are Friday nights baking and listening to Beyonce, and the way she can make me laugh for hour. Courtney lives in&nbsp;Grand Rapids, MI.&nbsp;

Courtney Seeley

Wedding Party

Photos

Registry

Q + A

This is a good option for those that are in town for a shorter period of time, primarily only for the wedding day, as this location is about 45 minutes from Portland, but ten minutes from Knoll Crest Gardens. Great option for anyone wanting to explore Mt. Hood National Forest while in the area.&nbsp;

Best Western Sandy Inn

Portland International Airport

Great location with easy access to I-84. Within walking distance is&nbsp;NW23rd Avenue,&nbsp;main street of an area called "The Alphabet District" with several of our favorite restaurants. Close to Forest Park as well. This hotel is just a few&nbsp;blocks from where Anneliese and Kim Kinzer lived the majority of their time in&nbsp;Portland.&nbsp; No rooms blocked here.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Portland-Nw Downtown

Easy access to I-84 and close to a Max station (our awesome public transit system in Portland), a great option for exploring closer to downtown Portland. This hotel is just a few blocks from where Andrew lived in Portland. No rooms blocked here.

Comfort Inn

For more flexibility in location, we highly recommend looking at AirBNBs and VRBOs in Portland. A few of our suggested locations: the North West District, Alberta neighborhood, Boise neighborhood, and anywhere between E. Burnside&nbsp;Street and SE Division Street. Each of those neighborhoods are very walkable and fun areas to explore.

AirBNB & VRBO

Travel

Forest Park is beautiful. It is one of the largest urban forest reserves in the country and consists of about 70 miles of trails. If you walk up Thurman St. to the Thurman Street entrance of the park, you get amazing views of Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens on a clear day. Fun fact: Anneliese estimates that she's logged somewhere more than&nbsp;2,000 miles running on these trails.&nbsp;

Forest Park

We've spent a lot of time walking and relaxing at Mount Tabor Park together, and its close to where Andrew lived so he'd often run to and around this area. "Mount" may be a bit generous as its more of a hill, but if you take the trails that wind their way to the top of the park there are great views of the Willamette River and downtown Portland.

Mount Tabor, Portland, OR, USA

This walking/running/biking path runs on the east side of&nbsp; the&nbsp;Willamette river, and looks out across the river to downtown. Stunning views, especially at sunset. A fun loop to do is the walk south on the Eastbank esplanade, cross the river at Tilikum Crossing (or Hawthorne Bridge), then come up the west side of the river through Tom McCall Waterfront Park, then continue and cross on the pedestrian pathway on the Steel Bridge. Just be aware of all the bikers and runners that are often found on this path :).&nbsp;

Eastbank Esplanade, Portland, OR, USA

A MUST SEE. This area is one of Oregon's crown jewels. Unfortunately this area was hit with a massive fire last fall, closing a lot of the trails for repair, but a few are still hikeable. Multnomah Falls,  Bridal Veil Falls, and Latourell Falls are good ones to check out.

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

About an hour outside of Portland, and entirely worth the trip. You can catch views of Mt. Hood from all around Portland (or even while flying in, if you're lucky), but to truly appreciate&nbsp;the wonder and beauty of it you need to head out to this area and explore. Day&nbsp;hikes/trips: Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain via Mirror Lake trail head, Trillium Lake Day Use Area, and Tamanawas Falls Trail.&nbsp; Fun fact: Andrew summitted Mount Hood in May 2018!

Mount Hood National Forest

Found in downtown Portland, it is a massive used book store and one of Portland’s top “things to do.”

Powell's City of Books

Portland is divided into districts, and these are a few of our favorites: Alberta, Hawthorne, Division, Belmont, and Alphabet District. Each street is full of &nbsp;restaurants and fun stores&nbsp;to check out.

Portland Neighborhoods

We named a few of our favorites places or things to do. Other ideas: craft beer (i.e. <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Deschutes+Brewery+Portland+Public+House/@45.5246003,-122.6840925,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x54950a023cfbb4a3:0x31d6f224607753cc!8m2!3d45.5246003!4d-122.6819038" target="_blank">Deschutes</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/10+Barrel+Brewing/@45.525951,-122.6876836,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x549509f890e796e5:0xc6b1a28d4a934cf!8m2!3d45.525951!4d-122.6854949" target="_blank">10 Barrel</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Breakside+Brewery+-+NW+Slabtown/@45.5259296,-122.7555348,12z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sBreakside!3m4!1s0x0:0x919be674531a8906!8m2!3d45.5339653!4d-122.6965141" target="_blank">Breakside Brewery</a>); donuts (<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pip's+Original+Doughnuts+%26+Chai/@45.5483793,-122.6159932,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x5495a6d2c8494931:0xb0ca4c4b82cf63eb!8m2!3d45.5483793!4d-122.6138045" target="_blank">Pip's Original Donuts</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Blue+Star+Donuts/@45.5483739,-122.6488239,13z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sBlue+star!3m4!1s0x5495a0920670376f:0x6bc87e905ba8096f!8m2!3d45.5122697!4d-122.6276281" target="_blank">Blue Star</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Voodoo+Doughnut/@45.5235787,-122.670555,15z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1sVoodoo!3m4!1s0x54950a07243140ef:0x257d2968f343ef75!8m2!3d45.5226986!4d-122.6731252" target="_blank">Voodoo</a>); <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/OMSI/@45.508741,-122.6684867,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x54950a72e8b112d1:0xd074694827faf84c!8m2!3d45.508741!4d-122.666298" target="_blank">OMSI</a>; <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Oregon+Zoo/@45.5094411,-122.7170372,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x54950a2eb856b805:0xe7e720b09eddfc26!8m2!3d45.5094411!4d-122.7148485" target="_blank">Portland Zoo</a> + <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington+Park/@45.5126401,-122.7149248,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x54950a270bd7f419:0x6e4012538a68d97b!8m2!3d45.5126401!4d-122.7127361" target="_blank">Washington Park</a>.&nbsp;Feel free to reach out to us with any other questions about things to do or logistics about the area or if you have more specific types of activities you want to do and we can recommend some of our favorites.

Anneliese & Andrew

Anneliese & Andrew

Photos