Val and Michael met in 2013 at NC State University during their freshman year- Go Pack!

They shared a mutual friend who insisted that they all go to the NCSU Campout together and spend the night in PNC Arena celebrating Wolfpack basketball. After meeting there, they exchanged numbers and began texting and hanging out a bit more. They shared a first date at the world famous Golden Dragon on Hillsborough street, and soon after it was happily ever after....

Just kidding. It didn't work out. After a couple of dates, they decided to move on and didn't see each other again during college.

Thanks to the help of good old fashioned dating apps, they reconnected in 2020, while Val was in veterinary school and Michael was working in Raleigh. They became good friends and got to know each other pretty well, going for weekly walks that Spring while the world was shut down during Covid. While they became good friends quickly, but no friendship could rival that of Michael and Val’s family dog, Parker.

Over the Summer, they went on their first official date at Tupelo Honey where Michael was appalled that Val got French Toast for dinner. Thankfully, they were able to overcome that, and this time it really WAS happily ever after to follow.

They dated for close to a year before Val moved to Colorado, to pursue her first year of specialty training. During that year, they spent a lot of time on video chat dates, phone calls, and planes, but made the most of it. They explored Colorado together when they could, and explored the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe over Zoom other times. At the end of the year, they found out that the next phase of life was going to take them to our nation’s capital (from 1790-1800) Philadelphia, PA, where they ultimately made their first home together!. While there, they navigated a new city, new jobs, adopted an incredible and stubborn beagle, and saw the Liberty Bell many… many… many times.

We are incredibly excited to share this moment with all of our friends and family from NC, NY, CO, PA and more!

Registry