During a lunch break at McMaster Children’s Hospital in 2019, Ary was chatting with her co-worker Andrea, about how difficult it is to find a good guy to date. It was at this point, Andrea mentioned Stu, who is her husband’s best friend. In the following weeks, they chatted about all the things they loved and had in common: travelling, camping, good food and dumb movies like Superbad. Stu asked Ary out on their first date in Waterloo Park to see the Christmas lights. Since then, they’ve renovated a home together, got their best four legged friend, Manny, travelled across North America and moved to Ottawa!

In September of 2023, Stu and Ary were on a trip to explore Vancouver Island for the first time, and visit Stu’s brothers, Andrew and Bryan. While enjoying a beautiful mountain top view and a couple of beers together, Stu snuck the ring out of his backpack and proposed. It was perfect!

On the one year anniversary of their engagement, Ary and Stu will be getting married at an intimate ceremony in Waterloo Park, right where they had their first date!