It all started, as all great love stories do… at the gym.

One day, mid-workout, I spotted him — Justin. He was lifting weights, minding his own business, and looking exactly like someone who doesn’t skip leg day. Naturally, I turned to Clar and said, “That’s my gym husband.” She laughed, looked at him, looked at me, and went, “Yeah… fair.”

For months, I saw this man at the gym. Like, every. single. week. Did I talk to him? Nope. I just admired from a safe and socially acceptable distance — like any gym-crushing introvert would. I even saw him on a dating app, you’d think that was my moment, right? Wrong. I panicked, slammed my phone shut, and thought, "What if I say hi, and it goes terribly, and then I have to change gyms? Or worse… see him every day while reliving the awkwardness?"

But fate has a funny way of not letting you off the hook.

The very next day, I decided to woman up and actually say hello. Spoiler alert: he didn’t run. We started talking. Then talking some more. And finally, we decided to go on a first date.

Now, let’s talk about that first date.

I had the brilliant idea to go outdoor skating. In -40°C. Yes, negative. Forty. Degrees. Celsius. I don’t know what I was thinking — maybe I was trying to show off my Canadian roots, or test his survival skills. Either way, we froze. My eyelashes froze. Our limbs almost fell off. But clearly, I must have glided into his heart, because eight years later, we’re still together… and have never gone skating again.

We met at 21 and 24, and now here we are, 30 and 33, still laughing, still arguing over what to order for dinner, and now… planning a wedding. We’ve been through job changes, questionable hair phases (mostly Justin) , new homes, and all the ups and downs life throws your way. But one thing we’ve never doubted is how much we love each other — and how much we love being in the mountains together. The mountains became our happy place, then the spot where we got engaged, and now, the place where we’ll officially become husband and wife. One thing we do agree on? There’s no better place to start the next chapter. (And no, we’re still not going skating again.)

Photos