How we met

At the beginning of August 2022, we connected on the dating app hinge. Katie thought Gavin looked cute in his photos, while Gavin was intrigued by Katie's supposed hatred of above ground pools. We decided to meet at a bar called Love Street in Lincoln Park on August 9th of that year (which we now frequent every 6 months from the date of our first date). Little did we know that this would be our last first date. Conversation was easy and after a cocktail..... or 5, we decided to run across the street to a liquor store for the ingredients for Katie to make her famous espresso martinis. We spent the rest of the evening having cocktails with the liquor store employees and singing songs from the little mermaid. This is going to sound cliche, but the rest is history.

From that first meeting, we quickly became best friends, falling in love while exploring Chicago's vibrant neighborhoods and traveling the world together. As most of you know, we booked our wedding venue before we got engaged. When we saw that our three-year anniversary was on a Saturday in 2025, we just knew that was the day we needed to get married and the Arbory was the perfect place.

The Proposal

On March 30, 2024, Gavin told Katie he was taking her to a surprise lunch at a location he couldn't tell her. When we arrived at the park, Gavin told Katie we were going to North Pond for lunch. However, low and behold North Pond was closed (which Gavin already knew). So we sat on a bench right by the pond to figure out where to go to lunch instead. It just so happened that an acapella group was filming a video near this bench. As Katie browsed through her phone showing Gavin different restaurant options, she was not paying attention to the acapella group (who was now singing Taylor Swift's "Love Story") getting closer to where they were sitting. To get Katie to pay attention, Gavin told Katie he was feeling a "little woozy" and made her put her phone away. As we sat listening to the acapella group, Katie noticed that the camera man who was filming the acapella group was now filming the two of us. She then noticed that Gavin's leg was shaking uncontrollably and put two and two together - this was it!

We both sat individually freaking out in silence for the next 30 seconds until that perfect part in the song where she says "He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring

And said, Marry me, Juliet". Gavin got down on one knee and popped the big question. As you all can assume, Katie said yes! To add to the even more extraordinary day, Gavin had his family and Katie's family come into town for lunch in downtown Chicago to celebrate the occasion.

Since the proposal, we've continued to explore the world together, plan our dream wedding, and added to our little family by giving our cat, Ramsey, a little Corgi brother, Waffles.

Now, we're counting down the days to celebrating our love with all our favorite people. We can't wait to share this special day with you on our three-year anniversary.

K&G

Wedding Day