Surprising Kat with a proposal took some doing, since the wedding rings had been ordered, her heirloom engagement ring was off being sized, and the paperwork for the legal ceremony had to be completed. But Nick managed to surprise her anyway. He arranged to have the jeweler email Kat and tell her that the ring would be delayed. After Kat’s regular Sunday horseback ride, Nick arrived to pick her up. Just as Nick got on one knee, Kat’s horse started dragging her away. Kat said yes, and the adventure began.

  Kat said, “Simply saying the vows is so romantic in itself and so for us having something big and fancy just wasn’t us. We wanted simple, intimate, and fun so we went for a courthouse wedding in Seattle and we had a big celebration on our friends’ beautiful farm later in the year.” For the Seattle wedding, Nick’s mom flew out from Cincinnati, and Kat’s mom drove down from Vancouver. They all stayed at the Edgewater Hotel. Kat and Nick had a fireplace and a beautiful view. “The day of the wedding was relaxed and luxurious from beginning to end. We had brunch on the waterfront before walking over to Pike Place Market to choose the flowers for the bouquet.” Kat chose a spray of tulips, baby’s breath, and hyacinths. “It smelled incredible.”

  For the wedding lunch, they picked up artisan breads, cheese, fresh fruit, and champagne and went back to the hotel to relax. After their light lunch, they went to the courthouse and said their vows on the top floor overlooking Seattle. Kat said, “It was beautiful. Moreover the judge who married us was a really incredible woman, she was so invested and heartfelt.” After the ceremony, they dined at Canlis, which Kat says is no doubt the best meal of their lives. The next day, Nick had a final surprise for Kat — a honeymoon in San Francisco.

  The following ceremony in Squamish was a simple and beautiful country wedding at a log home, with willow trees and glacier views. “We had a salmon dinner, pies for dessert and our good friends honky tonk/blue grass band got the dancing started. They surprised us with ‘Walking after Midnight,’ and so we had our first dance, impromptu and perfectly romantic...which fit just right with the rest of our story.