We were both living in Colorado during the summer of 2022. Laura had just started a new job in Denver, right out of grad school, and Michael was working remotely from his house in Manitou Springs as a software engineer. In September, after both having given up on dating apps multiple times, we each (thankfully!) decided to give it one more shot. After a few swipes and weeks, we stumbled upon each other’s profiles and the rest, as they say, is history.

We talked for a few days and decided to skip the texting phase and go out on a date. Since Michael was in Manitou and Laura was in Denver, Michael decided to split the difference and settled on... Boulder (lol). Our first date lasted over six hours so we’ll give you the highlights. Since it was fall, the original plan was to see the aspens as they changed to yellow… we missed them by two weeks. We bonded instead over conversations about staying as kids at the same vacation lodge in Door County, WI, Laura realizing Michael drove two hours to go on the date, Laura confidently driving the wrong way down a one-way street on the way to drinks and dinner, and finally, sharing a late-night walk because Laura forgot in which parking lot her car was parked (although Michael knew exactly where it was but wanted to spend just a little more time together).

Our first date was followed by many more that included countless miles driven through “The Gap” (the perilous and perpetually under-construction highway between our places in Colorado), Friday night margs at our local Mexican restaurant, Sunday morning Masses, a few walks through Garden of the Gods (this will be key later), thousands of texts and even more Facetime calls to shorten that gap a little, and endless shared smiles.

It seems that every person who is married can recall a single moment in time when they knew they would marry their spouse and we would like to share ours with you.

If you ask Michael, it was in January and February of 2023. I had quite a few things going on at once, including getting my house ready to sell and watching my parents’ house and dog while they were out of town for a few weeks tending to a family emergency. I was driving between my house and theirs nonstop during that time and, between that and work, I was fairly stressed. Laura was not only there for me that whole time, but one night when she came down to visit, she had a big tupperware of soup that she had made for me as she knew I didn’t have time to go to the store to get food before the week started. That simple gesture, combined with the overall serenity and happiness she brought to my life, was that moment for me. I knew I didn’t want a day to go by without her by my side.

If you ask Laura, it was over Christmas of 2022. My brother, Collin, was out in Colorado for an end of semester ski trip and I had just finished up a week of work right before Christmas. We had a flight booked out of Denver to head back home together to Chicago. By the time we made it through security, our flight had been delayed a few hours. A few minutes later, it was canceled due to winter storm Elliot and the nightmare that was Southwest airlines that holiday season. I had been texting with Michael as I was worried Collin and I would not be able to make it home for Christmas. My brother and I made a game-time decision to drive home and for two days drove through the storm that covered most of the middle of the United States. Despite seeing dozens of cars off the road in ditches in every state through which we drove, we thankfully made it home safely. After Christmas, I found myself needing to get myself and my car back to Colorado but, since Collin was heading back to school at Iowa State, I had no one with whom to make the fourteen hour drive. Without hesitation, Michael said he would fly from Colorado the next day and drive back with me. Aside from my family, I had never had anyone in my life willing to drop everything and help me when I needed it. I knew from that day that this man would always be by my side no matter how difficult things got. Like Michael, I never wanted to have a day go by without him in my life.

Now, we said we would get back to Garden of the Gods. On a cool Saturday morning in August of 2023, we went for a sunrise walk through Garden of the Gods. The morning skies, unfortunately, were completely overcast, but it would still end up being one of the brightest days of both of our lives. As it was early in the morning, we were alone in the park, which was unusual as GoG is a popular weekend destination, especially during the summer. While looking at a beautiful mountain view, Michael got down on one knee and proposed.

Beyond the moments above, we can boil down our bond to a few key values: faith, love, and respect. From the beginning, our relationship has been based on a shared faith, which was the main reason we each stood out to one another on the dating app. Our love and respect for each other grew out of that foundation in faith. As we count down the days to our wedding, we are excited to continue enjoying this engaged stage of life, and are even more excited to begin our married life and all of the many blessings and adventures it will bring. We’re grateful to celebrate with our friends and family and are looking forward to the festivities of November 2nd!

L&M

Wedding Ceremony