A tall, attractive man stood at the coffee maker in the office break room. Katelyn immediately thought, "Wow, who is the cute new guy?" Levi explained that he just moved down from Iowa and was working in the civil engineering group. They exchanged small pleasantries and went on with their day. At this point in time, they worked in two totally separate areas of the office building and seldom saw each other. As the months passed by, they ran into each other a few times but nothing major developed.

In the summer of 2019, Katelyn and Levi began planning a charity event for their office called Hops for Hope. It was during these planning meetings and company events that Katelyn's crush on Levi grew and grew. When she found out she was going to Des Moines for a work conference, she thought, "Yes! What a great excuse to go to Levi's cube to ask for restaurant recommendations." Katelyn assumed Levi must know some good places to check out given that he was from Iowa, right? She did not know that he had never lived in Des Moines and he just Googled recommendations for her, but the exchange fulfilled its intended purpose - more time talking together.

Katelyn enjoyed her time in Iowa at the conference, but as she left she thought, "It was nice, but I'll probably never be back here." Little did she know in just one year's time she would be spending the holidays with her future fiancé's family flying into Des Moines once again.

As the summer progressed, Katelyn and Levi continued to plan a successful fundraising campaign for Hops for Hope. Katelyn loved Levi's humor, drive, and motivation to organize and plan events. His social circle was huge and Katelyn loved meeting all his amazing friends which they now both share. Levi was intrigued by Katelyn's poised, workplace demeanor but then her contrasting fun, goofy personality outside of work.

In the fall of 2019, Levi asked Katelyn on a date to Pizzeria Toro in his beloved downtown Durham. The restaurant was slammed when they arrived, so the decided to walk down the street to a cozy brew pub called The Federal. The date went fantastic and they walked back hand and hand to their cars under a cool, starry night sky.

And the rest is history! Dating, a global pandemic, two mortgages, trips to California, Las Vegas, Iowa, Italy, golf, golf, golf, a Master's Degree, a new company name, weddings, a nephew, and so much in between; Levi proposed on the top of Craggy Gardens off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, NC on October 21, 2022.

We can't wait for what is next!