The Landing of Tecumseh

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Spring

Our Wedding

<p>We&nbsp;met&nbsp;in&nbsp;November&nbsp;of&nbsp;'21&nbsp;like&nbsp;many&nbsp;people&nbsp;do&nbsp;nowadays:&nbsp;online&nbsp;dating.&nbsp;Claire&nbsp;knew&nbsp;exactly&nbsp;what&nbsp;she&nbsp;wanted&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mike&nbsp;was&nbsp;starting&nbsp;on&nbsp;a&nbsp;fresh&nbsp;new&nbsp;chapter&nbsp;of&nbsp;his&nbsp;life.&nbsp;She&nbsp;was&nbsp;ready&nbsp;to&nbsp;sign&nbsp;up&nbsp;right&nbsp;away,&nbsp;but&nbsp;he&nbsp;realized&nbsp;that&nbsp;he&nbsp;needed&nbsp;to&nbsp;work&nbsp;on&nbsp;himself&nbsp;a&nbsp;bit&nbsp;before&nbsp;committing.&nbsp;So,&nbsp;a&nbsp;friendship&nbsp;began.&nbsp;With&nbsp;similar&nbsp;passions&nbsp;of&nbsp;adventure&nbsp;and&nbsp;music,&nbsp;that&nbsp;friendship&nbsp;grew&nbsp;quickly.&nbsp;Late&nbsp;night&nbsp;talks,&nbsp;mosh&nbsp;pits&nbsp;at&nbsp;concerts,&nbsp;and&nbsp;genuine&nbsp;conversations&nbsp;that&nbsp;flowed&nbsp;seamlessly.&nbsp;Less&nbsp;than&nbsp;a&nbsp;year&nbsp;of&nbsp;knowing&nbsp;each&nbsp;other,&nbsp;we&nbsp;made&nbsp;plans&nbsp;to&nbsp;take&nbsp;a&nbsp;trip&nbsp;to&nbsp;Europe.&nbsp;That's&nbsp;where&nbsp;Mike&nbsp;realized&nbsp;his&nbsp;true&nbsp;feelings&nbsp;for&nbsp;Claire.&nbsp;It&nbsp;took&nbsp;a&nbsp;bit,&nbsp;even&nbsp;after&nbsp;that,&nbsp;because&nbsp;he&nbsp;didn't&nbsp;think&nbsp;she&nbsp;felt&nbsp;the&nbsp;same.&nbsp;It&nbsp;wasn't&nbsp;until&nbsp;Claire's&nbsp;best&nbsp;friend&nbsp;Molly&nbsp;told&nbsp;him&nbsp;to&nbsp;stop&nbsp;being&nbsp;an&nbsp;idiot&nbsp;and&nbsp;ask&nbsp;her&nbsp;out&nbsp;already.&nbsp;"How&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;not&nbsp;know&nbsp;Claire&nbsp;likes&nbsp;you&nbsp;too?"&nbsp;Some time after that, Mike finally&nbsp;asked&nbsp;Claire&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;his&nbsp;girlfriend.&nbsp;We&nbsp;had&nbsp;known&nbsp;each&nbsp;other&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;year&nbsp;and&nbsp;a&nbsp;half, &nbsp;and&nbsp;everything just&nbsp;came&nbsp;naturally.&nbsp;Love&nbsp;blossomed&nbsp;as&nbsp;if&nbsp;it&nbsp;had&nbsp;always&nbsp;been&nbsp;there.&nbsp;Over&nbsp;the&nbsp;next&nbsp;couple&nbsp;years,&nbsp;they&nbsp;traveled&nbsp;to&nbsp;California,&nbsp;Costa&nbsp;Rica,&nbsp;and&nbsp;many&nbsp;road&nbsp;trips&nbsp;in&nbsp;between.&nbsp;In&nbsp;March&nbsp;of&nbsp;'25,&nbsp;on&nbsp;another&nbsp;road&nbsp;trip,&nbsp;Mike&nbsp;and&nbsp;Claire&nbsp;stopped&nbsp;in&nbsp;DC.&nbsp;He&nbsp;knew&nbsp;this&nbsp;was&nbsp;the&nbsp;day&nbsp;he'd&nbsp;finally&nbsp;pop&nbsp;"The&nbsp;Question"&nbsp;but&nbsp;didn't&nbsp;know&nbsp;where&nbsp;and&nbsp;when.&nbsp;Mike&nbsp;carried&nbsp;the&nbsp;ring&nbsp;in&nbsp;his&nbsp;pocket&nbsp;the&nbsp;entire&nbsp;day.&nbsp;They&nbsp;visited&nbsp;the&nbsp;Smithsonian&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mike&nbsp;cracked&nbsp;jokes&nbsp;at&nbsp;the&nbsp;gem&nbsp;exhibit&nbsp;about&nbsp;"would&nbsp;this&nbsp;be&nbsp;an&nbsp;adequate&nbsp;diamond?"&nbsp;and&nbsp;"what&nbsp;if&nbsp;I&nbsp;got&nbsp;you&nbsp;something&nbsp;like&nbsp;this?"&nbsp;Somehow&nbsp;he&nbsp;hid&nbsp;his&nbsp;nervousness.&nbsp;After&nbsp;that,&nbsp;the&nbsp;next&nbsp;stop&nbsp;was&nbsp;the&nbsp;wharf&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;special&nbsp;dinner.&nbsp;On&nbsp;the&nbsp;way,&nbsp;they&nbsp;passed&nbsp;thru&nbsp;a&nbsp;garden&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mike&nbsp;knew&nbsp;this&nbsp;was&nbsp;the&nbsp;place.&nbsp;He&nbsp;set&nbsp;up&nbsp;his&nbsp;phone&nbsp;for&nbsp;a&nbsp;"timed&nbsp;picture"&nbsp;to&nbsp;capture&nbsp;this&nbsp;moment.&nbsp;Like&nbsp;the&nbsp;sap&nbsp;Mike&nbsp;is,&nbsp;he&nbsp;professed&nbsp;his&nbsp;love&nbsp;for&nbsp;Claire&nbsp;before&nbsp;kneeling&nbsp;and&nbsp;proposing.&nbsp;"Yes!"&nbsp;she&nbsp;exclaimed,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mike&nbsp;was&nbsp;an&nbsp;idiot&nbsp;again&nbsp;and&nbsp;responded,&nbsp;"Are&nbsp;you&nbsp;sure?"&nbsp;Yes.&nbsp;1000%&nbsp;yes.&nbsp;The&nbsp;wedding&nbsp;planning&nbsp;began&nbsp;immediately,&nbsp;not&nbsp;wanting&nbsp;to&nbsp;waste&nbsp;any&nbsp;more&nbsp;time&nbsp;getting&nbsp;to&nbsp;their&nbsp;special&nbsp;day!</p>

Mike + Claire

Our Story

Photos

Molly Armstrong

Stephen Linde

Aishwarya Manoharan

George Wilson

Damian Black

Gavin

Nora

Wedding Party

Q + A

<p>If you are planning to stay multiple nights (for our out of state guests) you can call or email the hotel directly to get the same rate @ 571-265-5700 or <a href="mailto:gmhieadrian@gmail.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">gmhieadrian@gmail.com</a></p>

Holiday Inn Express

Travel

Things to Do

Registry

Claire & Mike

Claire & Mike

Registry