How We Met

March 2015

Karissa and Alex first met at a party in 2015. Karissa first caught Alex’s attention while he was playing beer pong with friends. He was too nervous to approach her at first and wanted to win his beer pong game, but later that night, noticed Karissa petting his beloved yellow lab, Diesel. Fortunately, little did Alex know that Diesel was his wingman that night as Karissa thought Diesel was adorable. Diesel stole Karissa’s heart. Karissa and Alex shared similar interests: going for drives and listening to music, being at the beach in the summer, camping trips, trying different bakeries and pubs, and travelling.

The Proposal

July 7, 2022

Alex proposed to Karissa after 7 years of dating once Karissa finally finished university (undergrad and then teachers college) by taking her to Kynance Cove in Cornwall, England. Karissa thought she was having family photos taken of her favourite place to be, the beach, but Alex had planned a proposal. Leading up to the proposal was anything but smooth, Karissa and Alex both had massive sunburns from being out in the sun the day before at Saint Michael’s Mount exploring the ancient tidal island, and cobbled streets of the historic village around the castle (good thing photoshop exists haha!). Karissa was so burnt she even asked to have the “family photos” another day, but Alex, Nadine, and Pamela quickly said no, for good reason haha! The morning Karissa, Alex, Nadine, and Pamela had arranged plans to go surfing however, a change in tidal times pushed the schedule back to later at the same time the proposal was planned to happen. After lots of secret phone calls with the photographer and surfing instructors, Alex, Nadine, and Pamela still made it all happen. Needless to say, Karissa said yes. Hugs and kisses were shared, and they enjoyed champagne on the beach all together in England!

Favourite Memories

Karissa and Alex have too many funny memories to count from our classic day trips to the beach and camping, to travelling out east to Newfoundland, they are constantly making each other laugh with their families, friends, and fur babies by their side.

One time Karissa and Alex were at the airport to go back home from Tampa Bay, Florida on the morning of St. Patrick’s Day. They decided to start celebrating early, and one corona led to another which led to missing their flight back home! Karissa and Alex did not realize they were missing their flight until as they were walking back to their terminal they watched their plane take off with their luggage and not them. They turned this unfortunate event into a fun hotel stay with poolside beverages but made sure to make it home for their St. Patrick’s Day house party the very next day, haha.

Karissa and Alex love partaking in the annual Saugeen canoe trip adventure every summer. Typically it is planned with sunny and clear sky weather forecasts, however, as soon as the canoes go into the water with all of their gear and they are paddling, it becomes a Tornado watch or a torrential downpour with hail. The most legendary time was when it was Alex’s first time joining the Butt family canoe trip when the canoe in campsite flooded, and they all camped in the Pavilion for the night. To Karissa, it didn’t make a difference that everything was soaked as Alex had already dumped her gear in the river on the first day. As much as Karissa and Alex love canoeing you will find Alex paddling for the two of them, while Karissa makes sure she has a quality tan by the end of the trip with her feet up on the bow sprawling out over top of the cooler usually with her sidekick Annie keeping watch close by. By the end of the trip everyone is typically floating down the waterway with the rivers current and a cold beverage in their hand thankful they survived another Saugeen canoe trip while creating more funny memories.

After 9 years together, we can’t wait to celebrate with all of you on August 3, 2024! Love, Karissa, and Alex.