The year was 2004. The date ... we can't remember. Our friends had the bright idea of setting us up. They thought we would make a great couple. We didn't agree. Yet.
Our friends weren't wrong. It just took 14 years, one kid, two countries and countless other failed romantic endeavors for us to re-meet and realize what they knew all along. If we gave each other half a chance, there was no turning back.
In the summer of 2018 Dee had just finished her articling year. She had the summer off and a great idea .... to buy a car and drive west. Until she did that she would use Bumble to go on first dates so that she never had to worry about buying groceries. She went on Bumble and one of her first matches was Brad who turned out to be her first-first date. Little did she know her plan was about to fail spectacularly.
Brad promised to be Dee's Bumble guru. He was done with dating but stayed on Bumble because.. well, we all know why. Their first date involved going to Pickering Playing Fields, Jack Astor's and the lake where they shared their first kiss. Brad pulled away and said .. I think I'll keep you for a while.
Afterward, while waiting for the train back to the city Dee would call her mom to say she'd just had the best first date ever, and if nothing came of it, at least she would always have that memory.
But something did come of it. The very next day Brad came to the city for their second date, which quickly turned into the third date and the fourth date and before they knew it, Dee was meeting Kyra and Aiden and they were planning a trip out East.
In August of 2018 Brad and Dee ventured out to New Brunswick to visit Brad's mom. Before staying with her, they went camping in Mount Carleton, where Brad asked Dee to be his girlfriend and they made it official by signing their 'dating contract'. Since that first road trip and camping adventure, they've been hooked - on each other and camping.
In September 2020, they went back to Samuel de Champlain. They had been in February of 2020 and went on a winter hike, without snowshoes and no marked trails and definitely not enough food to be lost in the wilderness. At the time, Dee thought they might die (not the first time she thought that while on a hike with Brad). When they returned in September of 2020, B and Dee enjoyed one of their best hikes together, and while out on the trail they dreamt up Not-a-Wedding. Dee had always wanted two things: to be asked to spend forever together, and to wear a wedding dress. But neither of them wanted to get married. Hence, Not-a-Wedding. A weekend to do their favourite thing with their favourite people, and commit to each other in a way that only the two of them may ever understand. With the whole thing planned, all that had to happen was for Brad to ask Dee to spend life together.
It only took him two years but on July 10, 2022, while camping (of course) on the Isle of Skye, Brad got down on one knee and asked Dee to commit to life together.
And that's where all of you come in! Brad and Dee can't wait to share their greatest camping adventure yet with you and celebrate this love they've found, and thank you all for your endless support and understanding of their whacky ways.