Our story starts a bit differently than you might expect, given that we spent our entire lives growing up in the same town, sharing close family ties, and even attending the same college. But meeting during those years would have been just too easy, right?

Hunter and I both grew up in Duluth, MN. I (Karie) went to Hermantown and Hunter Duluth East. We both attended UMD for college and found ourselves on opposite coasts for new adventures and job opportunities after graduation. Hunter ventured west to California while I headed to Florida.

Our love story began with a twist of serendipity when both of our brothers, Josh and Jordan, were getting married in 2022. Their wives, Rachel and Jena, were college roommates and great friends and ended up being our unexpected matchmakers.

Hunter returned to Minnesota in August to celebrate Jordan and Jena’s wedding. At the wedding, my sister-in-law, Rachel, sent me a Snapchat of her and Hunter—both part of the wedding party, dressed to the nines, and clearly having a blast. That message sparked curiosity about this intriguing Hunter Hren from California, but nothing came of it.

Fast forward to my brother Josh's wedding when my new Sister-In-Law, Rachel sent a photo of me to Hunter post dance party with the caption "Hit her up!" (thanks, Rach) and that's all it took for the connection to begin.

Hunter and I quickly hit it off through text and phone calls due to the nature of our locations. It wasn't long before my best friend and Hunter's cousin, Kylee, found out about this new romance and became very curious. She joined in on the matchmaking, inviting us both to visit her in Nashville for the weekend. We both ended up booking flights and gearing up to meet in person for the first time.

After a fun weekend in Tennessee getting to know each other, we parted ways, but not before Hunter made the bold statement that he would be booking a flight to come visit me in Florida in two weeks. I was a little hesitant, but the excitement outweighed my apprehensions. We spent our first weekend in Florida together, where Hunter ended up asking me to be his girlfriend. I could tell that God had something strong in store for us.

We agreed that we would do all we could to see each other monthly from that point forward, and we did a pretty good job of making that happen! Through many cross-country trips, we grew our relationship and built a strong foundation through our immense faith in the Lord's plan for us.

In July of 2023, I had an opportunity at work that brought me back to Minnesota, making the distance a bit shorter. Hunter made frequent trips to visit, where we'd explore the place we'd soon call home, spend time with our new friends at Our Lady of Grace, visit our amazing families, and continue to travel together as we love to do.

A little less than a year later, it was Hunter's time to move back to Minnesota, and we were so grateful to start to live a normal life in the same city.

We traveled to Maine in October of 2024 when it became clear to us that God was ready for us to take the next step in our relationship. There were just a couple of minor details that needed to be taken care of before that happened; the purchase of a ring and my dad’s blessing.

A couple of weeks later was our two-year dating anniversary, and Hunter planned a nice walk at our favorite spot, Lake Harriet. I was a bit suspicious since he is rarely the one who prompts the suggestion of a walk, but I wasn't going to question it. After making a pit stop for coffee and macarons, we arrived at Lake Harriet where Hunter would propose under the very last tree that had some fall colors remaining. We celebrated with our amazing siblings and couldn't wait to share the joy with our family and friends!

All of this comes together to remind us how much goodness comes when you place your trust in God.

We can't wait to be married and share our special day with all of our favorite people!