Katelyn and José met in Sidney, Maine in June 2021 at the Maine Chamber Music Seminar, a summer academic music program. José arrived a few days early to work and actually checked Katelyn into the camp when she arrived. The two quickly became inseparable both inside rehearsals and out. They bonded over their love of classical music, their Christian faith, and their dreams. It felt very much like a romance movie for them to begin their love story by the idyllic lakeside of Maine in the summer!

But there was one big obstacle. Katelyn lived in Madison, WI and José lived in Montreal, Quebec, Canada while they were both in graduate degrees. They talked and prayed a lot about dating long distance because neither wanted to take it lightly. They decided to try it and for the next 1.5 years they dated internationally seeing each other every 8-10 weeks. In December 2022, José moved to the US to do a graduate certificate in Albuquerque and the two continued dating long distance seeing each other much more often almost once a month. It’s been hard to date your best friend from a distance but we believe that in these last almost 3 years that our communication, love, faith, and strength has only grown. We are so excited to begin to build a life together geographically and in marriage.

On June 28, 2023, Katelyn flew to Washington DC to meet José for the start of a two week east coast trip to visit family and friends. He surprised her that night after celebrating their two year anniversary by proposing in a DC park!


José’s brother, Guasa, had been helping him pick out an engagement ring from Venezuela to propose to Katelyn with and she absolutely loves it!