This wedding is a true COVID silver lining story. Patrick had moved to Louisville (Ellen’s hometown) in late 2019 for work. As the pandemic set in, Ellen moved back home after two years of work travel. They met online and chatted continuously for 1.5 months before braving the COVID risk and meeting for a romantic picnic.

Their first date introduced Patrick to all of Ellen’s food sensitivities, as he had offered to cook. He passed with flying colors and that date set the stage for many more adventures; hiking, cooking, kayaking and always laughing. When it was time to propose, Patrick knew a few things that Ellen would love. He popped the question to her on a beautiful day in Maine’s Acadia National Park, with views of the forests, mountains and ocean everywhere you looked. It was perfect.

As we prepare for our big day, we can’t wait to celebrate our next milestone with you in the gorgeous Carolina foothills.

One day, something happened with the humans and Patrick started staying home ALL THE TIME. This was great. Then after a few months, he started leaving for hours for no good reason. The first time Ellen came over I realized where Patrick had been going and I thoroughly intimidated her with constant surveillance. Ellen was always bringing over puzzles and games and distracting Patrick from the most important woman in his life – me. Not cool.

After Ellen pet-sat me a few times, it turns out she wasn’t so bad – she fed me AND introduced me to crocheting. Now the three of us live together and I’m waiting for Patrick to pick up a hobby that’s as fun for me as crocheting.