Cort graduated from Lincoln High School in Lake City, MN in 2014. Growing up in Lake City, Cort made many memories with groomsman Ben Klipfel — like when he would go over to the Klipfels' house and politely refuse to eat anything but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He also met groomsman Colin Fritz in Lake City after his sister Braeden brought him home. When it came to thinking about his next step, Cort was looking for a smaller college with a good music program and many options for academics — Drake would be the perfect fit.

Cort got settled at Drake University in the fall of 2014. Starting college and moving to a new state really turned a new chapter in Cort's life — and thus "Freshman Cort" was born. Sure he may have pierced his ears after losing a No-Shave November bet, but he also made some incredible connections that would last a lifetime. Groomsmen Collin Miller and Chris Higgins lived in Cort's freshman dorm and chose to live with Cort for the next 3 years (and beyond). While at Drake, Cort played saxophone in the band and was in the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi.

Over on the other side of the Mississippi, Macy graduated from Stoughton High School. Macy and bridesmaids Ashley Olson and Kendra Halverson have known each other since birth — and the three of them share many amazing (and some not-so-amazing) memories of family vacations together. Macy also met bridesmaid Grace Stokes in Stoughton, where the two of them danced (quite literally) all over the country together — but nothing beat their basement dance parties after Friday night football games. When it came to college, Macy knew she wanted to be "a big fish in a small pond". Drake was the perfect fit!

Macy had a much tamer freshman year at Drake — outside of changing her major twice and trying (and quitting) a sorority, Macy was also on the Drake Dance Team — where a fellow teammate was roommates with bridesmaid Braeden McElmury. Although she didn't know it at the time, Macy would soon find out the impact that that connection would have for her entire life.

Oh man... this is the good part! Macy's first choice for J-Term abroad in 2018 was Cuba — but due to political climate and general safety, Drake decided to cancel that class. Instead, all students that were planning to head to Cuba got to pick a different location to take their J-Term. Well, Macy chose New Zealand (because she didn't really want to learn a different language) and coincidentally Cort was also signed up for that trip. Although they both attended a very small university, they literally had to travel to the other side of the world to meet. After 17 straight days together, neither Cort nor Macy was sick of the other — it was an immediate friendship like nothing either of them had experienced before.

One semester was all the pair was able to enjoy together at Drake. In that semester there were many trips to Fuzzy's Taco Shop where this relationship really started to grow into something special.

After graduating in May, Cort quickly found a job and apartment in Des Moines. He was adjusting to being a young professional, while Macy was fully enjoying her senior year at Drake. Even though they were going to be in different phases of their lives at least they were able to be in the same location.

Macy graduated college and moved to Wisconsin, while Cort took a new job and moved to Kansas City — but distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?

Let's talk about the rest of the wedding party, shall we?! In August 2019 Macy & Cort attended groomsman Max Fuller & bridesmaid Elle Fuller's wedding— and boy was it a magical weekend! That weekend is also infamous for Cort getting super [love?]sick (S/O to groomsman Mitch Fuller and bridesmaid Sydney Schwass for taking care of him while Macy was busy being a bridesmaid herself).

2020 might have been a nightmare of a year, but there was a silver lining when it came to Cort and Macy. The pair both had jobs that allowed them to work from home, and since they had homes in different states, they really worked from anywhere and everywhere. Bouncing around from Wisconsin to Minnesota to Kansas City (and even to Arizona and Florida for short bursts of time) Cort and Macy quickly went from a long-distance relationship to a no-distance relationship. Sure there were some meetings that had to be taken from the closet of Cort's one bedroom apartment, but it mostly worked out for the best.

After many, many months of discussing where the pair should live, they were able to find the perfect home to start their next chapter in Stoughton, Wisconsin. Purchasing a house together in a seller's market during a global pandemic pretty much sealed the deal for the pair. They knew at this point that they would be together forever.

Well, the first year of home ownership got busy. And then, it came down to waiting for the right moment. Cort popped the question back where it all began — Des Moines — in June 2022.

Today the pair continues to spend 24/7 together and is beyond excited to enter into married life!