Somehow I lost the coin flip and Kat has deemed that the groom will be writing “Our Story”


The first time I remember meeting Kat was in August of 2023. “Trad Nate” was introducing me, and I thought she was beautiful to say the least. Long skirt, nice hair, and fun red cowboy boot earrings. As cute as she was, our relationship would not come to fruition until quite a while later. Near the end of the year, I found my eyes falling on Kat’s beauty more often than usual. I was fortunate enough to witness her interior beauty as well. I would see her at daily mass, praying in adoration, or just spending time with friends at the church.


The Lord seemed to be drawing us together as our paths continued to cross as time went on. On one particular Sunday, there was a group of Iowa State students attending a Traditional Latin Mass at St Augustin’s in Des Moines which is the location of our wedding! Afterward, I was invited to the Amundson residence for Margaritas. A classic Sunday evening for my new family. When I arrived at their house, I made a game time decision. I reasoned that I would probably ask Kat out, so I decided to introduce myself to her father. From that point on, I was known to him as flow.


The tipping point happened after a TNL. For those who don’t know, TNL stands for Thursday Night Liturgy, and it is the student mass at the Iowa State Newman Center. Following mass, we tend to go out to the bars like the good Irish Catholics we are. On this particular night, I felt that God was speaking to me through His gift of fermentation. I was talking to Kat all night. She looked so cute in her boys size small Lucky Charms shirt. We were at Outlaws, and afterwards we decided to go to Macubana for a little late night snack. On the walk there, I asked Nate for the green light, he said yes, and I decided that I would ask Kat on a date the next day. When we arrived at Macubana, we were seated in a booth and our friend and bridesmaid, Helena, was sitting next to Kat. It was at this moment that the liquid courage started to take effect and I decided that now would be a great time to squeeze myself in between Helena and Kat making my intentions quite clear.


The next day, I went on a run because I was so stressed. I called my mom and my dad separately, and both of them gave me the same advice. I went to mass, then I asked her out and she said…no. Kinda, she said she was busy that night, but she would love to go on a date the following Tuesday. So we went on our date, and it was wonderful! Our first date consisted of hanging out at Gray’s Lake, eating Casey’s pizza, and watching the first movie of Kat’s favorite saga, Twilight. 


We had a brief time together before I went off to Colorado and Kat began her internship for the summer. The summer consisted of constant texts, phone calls, and letters. It was such a joy to be able to take this time to grow closer to Christ while reflecting deeply on our relationship. This time led us to a deep faith in Christ and a deep love of each other.  When I returned to Iowa to start school again, I was sure I wanted to marry my sweet Katherine. It was only a matter of time. After lots of conversations, prayer, and discernment, I asked Kat to be my wife. It was a wonderful day, and God’s providence was in full effect.


The day I proposed was January 1, 2025, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. That was the day of our consecration to Mary. The end of a 33-day prayer retreat about growing closer to Jesus through devotion to our Blessed Mother. Someone Kat and I love dearly. On the day of our proposal, I took her out to dinner under the guise of this consecration. In this way, I was able to avoid suspicion for the whole day. I took her out to dinner, and we got Mexican and margaritas, her favorite. Then we went to the Cathedral of the Madeleine to “pray”. To clarify, we did not travel the 15 hours from Des Moines to Salt Lake City, Utah just for the proposal. We were already there for the Catholic SEEK conference. We briefly prayed, and then I proposed. On our way back, we stopped for a quick photo with Joseph Smith. Then we ran into Fr Casey, the man who will celebrate our wedding, and he blessed the engagement ring! It was truly a wonderful day and I am so blessed to be engaged to Kat. We are counting down the days to our wedding and continuing to pray for the outpouring of God's love and mercy and ask you to do the same for us.


God bless!