Victor and Sarah met at the Anual Proulx Family Party in July of 2023 in Battle Creek, MI. Victor was in town from Houston to visit his sister in Battle Creek. Sarah was invited by her co-worker Mary Proulx. While there wasn’t much interaction at the beginning of the party for Victor and Sarah, by the end of the night, the two were cozied up on the couch next to each other playing his guitar and her ukulele while singing “Wagon Wheel” and various Dolly Parton Songs. The pair instantly hit it off, and made their way the next day to South Haven beach on the West Coast of Michigan. They spent the day walking the beach and getting to know each other. While their first date was a dream, they didn’t think too much of it because they lived in opposite ends of the country.

As the next few months rolled by, Victor and Sarah remained in contact as good friends. They found themselves texting and FaceTiming until the early hours of the morning and opening messages from each other with giddy smiles on their faces. Sarah was invited to visit Victor in Houston but declined because she didn’t know him well enough. (If you know Sarah, you know that she listens to way too much true crime. While she wanted to, she was not about to go to Texas to visit a man she’d only met in person once. That’s how all the horror movies start.) When Victor decided to come visit Michigan again in October, they jumped at the opportunity to see each other again. They spent that next weekend exploring Northern Michigan in its full fall foliage.

After their visit in October, they knew that this friendship (or possibly something more?) was worth pursuing. Sarah had survived the weekend without having her organs harvested for the black market or being murdered in the woods, so she felt safe enough to fly to Texas to visit Victor. From November 2023 to July of 2024, despite living 1200+ miles away from each other, Victor and Sarah were virtually inseparable. They spent their time alternating months to visit each other. If Sarah wasn’t spending a long weekend in Houston, Victor was spending a long weekend in Michigan. It was back and forth and Spirit flights for months. Victor took Sarah to visit all his favorite Texas things like the Houston Rodeo, the San Antonio River Walk, Gruene Hall, and the all you can eat sushi restaurants. Sarah introduced Victor to her favorite Michigan things like snowmobiling (in which Victor was very cold), the Great Lakes (which Victor thought was very cold) and the joy of warming up in front of a fire place after a long day of being out in the cold (this was probably Victor’s favorite part.) Over these months, their love bloomed into something that was hard to deny, and by August of 2023, it was official. Sarah was moving to Texas so she and Victor could truly be together.

In August of 2024, Sarah packed her life up (along with her mom) into her little Jeep Renegade, and they made their way down to Houston, TX. While her mom returned back to Michigan after the long weekend of travel and moving, Sarah remained in Houston with Victor. Over the next few months, their pair would learn a lot. Sarah would go on to learn how to navigate 12 lanes of highway traffic. Victor would go on to learn the importance of putting the toilet seat down. (TBH he’s still working on that one.) During these months though, the most important thing they learned is that neither could imagine building a life without the other in it.

In February of 2024, Victor, Sarah and some close family took a long weekend vacation to the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. During this trip, they did things like go out to eat, shop, hike and get engaged! Victor got down on one knee on the edge of the mountain overlook and asked Sarah to be with him forever. Obviously, she said yes, because here we are writing this love story.

On April 26th, 2024, Victor and Sarah decided that they did not want to wait months or even years for their life as a married couple to start. They eloped in a small ceremony with some close friends and family on the banks of the Guadalupe River. It was a beautiful, meaningful and peaceful day filled to the brim with love and laughter.

While many family members were FaceTimed in to the elopement, so many close family members and friends could not make it all the way to Texas on such short notice. (Understandably, so. You people have jobs, children, and lives too!) With that, they decided to have another party in Michigan. Technically, they can’t get “married” again, so they will have a vow renewal ceremony at the wedding venue Sarah has planned on using since she was 6 years old, her childhood church camp. Afterward, they plan on doing what this family does best. They will have a backyard bonfire party. There will be food, dancing, music and fun times to be shared. Make sure to bring a warm change of clothes. Michigan in the fall can get pretty chilly. We hope to see you all soon!