It was May 15, 2013 and Katie was heading out for a girls night with her bestie, Amanda.
Katie suggested they go to party in the park (an after-work Downtown Cincinnati happy
hour event).
The evening was off to a great start, and then it started to rain. Everyone went to a nearby beer booth for shelter and that’s when Doug noticed Katie. (Though, she didn’t realize this until later).

Amanda said “There’s these guys staring at us!”
Katie responded “are they cute?!”
By the time Katie tried to locate them, they were gone.

The rain showed no sign of stopping, so they decided to go nearby to a bar called the Holy Grail.
Amanda came to find Katie and said “Those guys are here!!”
Katie responded “The tall one?!” And she headed in their direction...

It seemed everyone was introducing themselves giving “bro hugs”, and Katie, already smitten by Doug, approaches him saying “I don’t want a bro hug, I want a real hug!!”
Within minutes, Katie knew she had met her match!
Both Doug and Katie talked about the things they had in common... Camping, listening to music, summer activities, having close family and friends...

Katie was newly out of a long relationship and had quite specific qualities she was looking for in her next boyfriend/future husband (Tall, kind, funny, etc). Doug crossed off the list one by one immediately!!
Doug was also quite smitten by Katie. He even called her “trouble” like the popular Taylor Swift song at the time.

Doug was heading to another bar that Katie had never been to before, so she convinced her friends to go there, because she just knew she needed to spend more time with him!!
It was clear to all their friends that sparks were flying and they had both met their person!

After that night, Doug and Katie spent a few days per week together, but mainly the weekends. They went to many more party in the park events together.... MANY more concerts, pool parties, bars, camping trips, and he and his roommate Keith’s apartment for weekend get togethers/ dance parties.


After roughly 2 and a half years of dating, Doug and Katie (FINALLY) moved in together!
The first house was not as dreamy as they imagined... but one year later, they found home in Kennedy Heights, where they are currently located.

It was always their dream to get a dog together, so they made that dream come true in 2019 when they brought Carly Simon home to join their family.
Having a little pup was just what they needed to start the process of happy ever after!
Finally, after almost 7 years of dating, Doug proposed to Katie at their favorite place, Red River Gorge.

They were on a weekend trip there staying in a tree house, which was so romantic, but Katie had no clue (we’ll, maybe an inkling) that she would be leaving with a Fiancé.

It was a beautiful Leap Day in February, and they went on a hike. All of the hikes they had planned on embarking, were closed due to weather. Alas, they found the perfect one.

When they got to the overlook, Doug had pulled a couple beers out, and they just talked and took pictures. At one point, Doug was apologizing for having Katie wait so long to get engaged.... and since she didn’t know it was coming, she said “well, what are you waiting for?!”
About a moment later, Doug said to Katie “Well, I’m not going to wait any longer”
He proceeded to get down on bended knee and asked Katie to marry him. To which she replied “Of Course! I will!!!”

They headed back to the tree house, so elated and in love, to spend the evening together.
Doug had brought a bottle of wine Katie had been saving for the occasion (for 5 years) and they sat by a fire, cooked a lovely meal, told stories, and enjoyed their first night being engaged!

Doug had his best friend Keith put together a surprise engagement party for the day they came home (which was perfect and a total surprise to Katie), and this was one of the the best and last gatherings to take place before the big COVID-19 hit.

We want thank everyone who is a part of our story, and there’s a lot of you!! We love you guys so much! Looking forward to our wedding day, though it is ever changing because of Covid, we know it will be a perfect day!
Xoxoxo