It all started when Mike and Paige met at a Cubs/Sox crosstown classic...call it love at first sight or ballpark beer-induced infatuation; one thing is for sure: it was a semi-meet-cute that cemented their fate. Mike says their chemistry that day was the catalyst for dinner the next...even if it meant driving an hour and a half to the suburbs knowing Paige was only visiting family in Chicago for a few days. The date solidified something special between them…so much so that they decided not to be deterred by a long-distance relationship. When things are meant to be, they have a way of working out, as less than a year later, Paige was presented with a career opportunity in Chicago she couldn’t refuse. Mike proposed shortly thereafter, and alas, the couple would be together in perpetuity.

The pair selected the Sanderling as their wedding venue given their connection to the Outer Banks. Paige's parents spent their fifth wedding anniversary at the same resort, very near the Currituck Lighthouse, which was part of her father’s Coast Guard responsibilities when they lived on Cape Hatteras. As a military brat, Paige moved several times throughout her childhood, and during that period of change, the Outer Banks served as a calming constant for her family every spring and summer when they returned to visit. After vacationing there with Paige’s family, Mike shares a similar love of this special place and hopes it’s where they'll create cherished memories with their own family one day.