My favorite question I ask my couples is “how did you meet?” Here are a few sweet stories from my couples, in their own words. I’ll add to this page as more couples contribute. And to be fair, I’ll go first.
Laura & Dave
images ©LaRae & Cory Lobdell/Lifework Images
I most likely would not have met Dave if it weren’t for so many of my couples telling me they met online. I never thought I would search for a boyfriend the way I do shoes on Zappos.com. If you haven’t tried online dating before, you should know there are numerous categories you can select to narrow the search for your potential mate– from morals and physical attributes to hobbies and income. Considering each question carefully, I selected all the options from every drop-down menu before I did my search. My high hopes for a perfect mate (on paper, anyway) quickly dissolved as no matches came up. I de-selected a few things (maybe he could be “average” instead of “fit,” and maybe he didn’t have to have brown eyes…), but still to no avail. After striking out again and again, I finally just did a search for males 6-feet and taller (I’m just about 6-feet tall, and if I get to choose one search option, I’m taking height!). I browsed a few pages, and even saw a few of my friends’ ads, but one obscure image and clever headline caught my attention. I had to pay $5 to email the guy, and I even mentioned that he at least owed me a drink after my investment (not good online-dating etiquette!). We met a few days later and talked easily for 5 hours. I didn’t know at the time that Dave would have my heart forever, but I couldn’t have found a more perfect partner in crime. I’m so lucky to have found someone who challenges me to be better and go farther, and supports me even when my ideas and goals are far out in la la land. And Dave just happens to be brown-eyed and fit. Being a jazz musician is a bonus that I didn’t get to select from the “hobbies” menu, either…
While in the tall grass at the beach at Golden Gardens, Dave got on his knees and asked me to marry him. My friends LaRae and Cory where taking pictures of us for my website, and sneaky Dave thought to fit in his proposal that day so they could photograph it. I’m thrilled that my friends were there to capture the proposal, and after three years of photographing weddings together, Dave and I can’t wait to have our own.
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Karina & Marcus
I’m a first grade teacher and Marcus is a civil engineer for the State of Washington. I was born and raised on the tropical beaches of Miami, Florida and Marcus was born and raised in Kennewick, Washington. We are both are very goal driven and anxious to see what the future has in store for us.
During the winter of 2005, I graduated from Washington State University and Marcus graduated from Saint Martin’s University. In the Winter, it was extremely difficult for me to find a teaching job, so I decided to work for Tri-State Construction (my old summer job during college). There in Tacoma, off of Highway 16, I was asked to flag and protect a group of workers where I met the most handsome Italian construction inspector I had ever laid eyes on! To this day when Marcus is asked how we met, he laughs and replies with, “I picked her up off of the street!”
We talked for hours on a daily basis, and even got into trouble on the job, but we knew there was a spark there! I was so excited about Marcus that on the first two dates we had I locked my keys in the car! I moved to Lacey where Marcus lived with his family and have been inseparable ever since.
The Proposal
It was a beautiful, snowy day on December 14th in 2008. Marcus had been acting very weird and had asked me to put on all my winter gear because he wanted to play in the snow. He’d never ever asked me to play in the snow before, and I thought it was kind of strange but I went along with it. We arrived at Tumwater Falls Park ten minutes prior to the park closing but that didn’t stop us! We walked into the park and walked along the beautiful snowy trails hand in hand. We arrived at a wooden bridge that overlooked a gorgeous rushing waterfall and I was so fascinated by it. I ran ahead to look below and little did I know that Marcus was getting down on one knee. The snow and fog made it hard to see so when I called to get Marcus’ attention to see the beautiful waterfall, I saw that he was down on the ground. “Marcus, what are you doing hunny”? I cried as she walked closer and closer. I got close enough to see Marcus down on one knee with a gorgeous ring in hand. “Karina, I love you so much…..”. I fell to the ground in tears hugging him so tight saying, “Yes”!! Then he was able to finish his speech, “Karina, I love you so much, would you marry me”? We both teared up and were laughing with excitement as we hugged each other on our knees on the bridge.
After a photo op and all the excitement, we walked back to the entrance and realized that we had been locked in the park! We found a spot to get through the fence and with great difficulty we managed to get out– a bit dirty and happy as can be.
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Kirsten & Zach
I was in college, and Zach was working for a sign company. One of my classmates was dating a guy who worked with Zach. Our friends had a party, and we ended up meeting there. After 5 minutes of talking, we decided to go for a ride on a motorized cooler (yes no joke, you sit on the hard shelled cooler, and it has a motor and steering wheel). We had a blast that night, and everyone was making bets that we would end up seeing each other. They were sooooo right! A couple weeks after we met, Zach came over to my house, and I cooked dinner for him. Our first “date” was at the California Pizza Kitchen! (hehehe)
We got engaged after I had just come back from France. While I was away Zach asked my dad for permission to marry me (which is a huge deal because I am the oldest of three girls, and my father is VERY protective of his girls.) Zach came out of town with my family to our summer home in Chelan. On 8/28/08 Zach and I went out wine tasting, and mingled with other couples. On our way out of the wine cellar, Zach told me to stop and said “you better sit down for this” and he got on his knee and opened the ring box. I said yes, and as I did two women we had been tasting wine with came running out screaming “OH MY GOD HE JUST PROPOSED!!!! AHHHH!!!” They went back inside the cellar, and brought out two glasses and a bottle of wine for us. At this time the ring with STILL in the box, and the ladies started teasing Zach and said “what are you doing? Get that ring on her finger before she changes he mind!”
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Robyn & Kenny
Kenny and I met at the Owl ‘N Thistle Pub in Seattle, Washington, back in 2004. Kenny was invited by the brother (Sean) of my best friend from college (Tara) to come see the Town Pants play at the Owl. Tara & I had been going to see the Town Pants for over two years as we discovered the band after returning from a trip to Ireland & loved their rowdy Irish drinking music. Kenny was so enthusiastic at the show that he accidentally spilled a Guinness on me.
Kenny & I didn’t start dating right away, but the second time we met, which was at the next Town Pants show, Kenny asked for my number. I gave him my number since he was a friend of a friend, but when he called, I never called him back because I thought he was too young for me as he is 7 1⁄2 years younger than I. Two years go by and we see each other every time the Town Pants come to Seattle, he came to my cousin’s 21st birthday party & my sister’s 30th birthday party as Sean invited him along.
Then in 2006, we went to see the Town Pants just the two of us at the Folk Life Festival as everyone else bailed out due to rain. After that we started dating & have had so much fun together. I don’t think either of us expected to end up together when we first met back in 2004, but they say you find love when you least expect it. On December 22, 2008, Kenny surprised me with a proposal & I accepted.
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Sarah & Justin
Justin and I met at Squalicum High School in Bellingham, Washington. Justin was the choir teacher, girls’ jv basketball coach, and boys’ head golf coach at Squalicum. I wanted to get involved with coaching golf, and Squalicum had a head coach position open, so I applied and began coaching there in February of 2006. We both remember the day we first met, at a meeting for spring sports in the gymnasium at Squalicum High School. In fact, Justin still remembers the outfit I was wearing (and refers to me as Johnny Cash since it was pretty much all black). To be honest, I just remember his big blue eyes and gentle smile!
Many of the girls on the golf team had played on the basketball team that Justin had coached and he was the one who convinced them to play on the golf team. So they knew everything about him and immediately started telling me how he didn’t have a girlfriend and wanted to know if I had a boyfriend. The girls on the golf team were the ones responsible for getting the ball rolling. After spending some quality time on the golf course, and after I had asked him a million questions (literally), I knew he was the person I would be spending the rest of my life with!
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Sarah and Steve
In October 2004, Steve and I sat next to each other on a plane between Seattle and Vancouver. Both of us were connecting on to other destinations – I was visiting my sister in Nelson, BC and he was off to Shanghai China where he had been working for the last 2 years. So we had about 50 minutes to sit and chat about our lives and families. The time flew by (literally!) He mentioned that his family had recently relocated to Seattle and that his contract in China was ending soon and he would be moving to Seattle in the New Year. I had been living in Seattle for the last year and a half, and suggested that when he move, he give me a call and I could show him around the city. So we exchanged business cards in the Vancouver airport, and I left for domestic connections and he went through the doorway to the international terminal. I didn’t hear from Steve for seven months. To be honest, I didn’t think I would ever hear from him again. Then an email came that he had finally moved to Seattle (his contract in China had been extended so he stayed longer than expected). I was in a work meeting when the email came through and a big smile came across my face. It was perfect timing – I had just moved into a house with two other girls and I invited him to our housewarming party that weekend. He came to the door with a bunch of flowers and impressed me right away by immediately jumping into the kitchen and helping us finish getting the food prepared and served – he was right at home and I loved it! The next few months was a whirlwind of a new romance – after-work dates at restaurants all over Seattle, runs around Greenlake and long conversations getting to know each other. We couldn’t get enough of each other!
Two years, and a great set of memories later, Steve proposed the exact same way we met – on a plane. He took me away for a surprise weekend to Calgary, AB and half way through the flight he got down on one knee in the aisle and asked me to marry him. It was the most romantic and special moment of my life. I can’t wait to get married in July 2009.
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Kelsey & JR
JR and I have crossed paths at several points in our life. The first time that we could remember that we met was at a Dave Matthews Concert at the Gorge in 2000. My roommate in college, Jamie, grew up in Bellevue, just like JR. The two of them shared many mutual friends and therefore JR and I were in the same place, at the same time, without really knowing each other. JR and I were both in Cabo San Lucas during the same spring break, and we were at parties together as well throughout the years. It wasn’t until three years after we initially met, that JR and I hit it off at a Christmas party. Unfortunately, at that time, I was in a relationship and we just became friends. During the next few years we both finished college and did not see each other again until the summer of 2007. We were both out at a bar in Downtown Seattle with a group of friends. We started talking that night and immediately fell in love. From that moment on we were inseparable. JR proposed the next summer at sunset, on the beach in Kauai.
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Jesse & Josh
Josh and I met on Bastille Day… the 14th of July, the day that marked the beginning of the French Revolution, more than three hundred years ago. That day has become symbolic to us on many levels, not least for the principles of equality, brotherhood and freedom that were its backbone.
We met at Rebar–an oldtime Seattle club, that embraces diversity and freedom–where our mutual friend Riz DJ’s on Friday nights. To this day the third Friday of the month is a recurring celebration of what we love, at Rebar. I had moved to Seattle the previous January and had been through a long and hard winter. Now it was the beginning of summer and I felt alive again. The music was pulsating within me and I could feel it pounding in my heart. In the familiar dark room with spotted colored lights I saw a very long and slender person moving to the beat. We danced on the half deserted dance floor letting the music lead us and after some time it was as though a conversation had started in our movements. I inched closer and soon we were dancing together. Some time later at the bar we began talking and, despite the loud environment, covered much ground and many topics. We were then dragged back out to the dance floor and a connection had now been made. At the end of the night when the lights went on Josh came over and without words hugged me and kissed me. It was a moment that I look back on as a telling experience: I felt as though I could melt in his arms, as though I belonged there. It was two days before Josh called me and we started seeing each other regularly. At first for some months we took things by the day. We had no expectations–due to our age difference of nine years–and somewhat thought that our encounter would never lead to a longlasting relationship. Notwithstanding this we felt so good and comfortable. The more we got to know of each other, the more we wanted to know. We felt as though we could talk about so many different and interesting subjects. We were so different–almost polar opposites– and yet had so many interests in common. Although we did not make long-term plans we had a basic common understanding and a true-felt commitment toward each other. Soon we met each other’s families and friends, we began going on vacations, hikes and camping together and suddenly we couldn’t imagine being one without the other. After a year and a few months we made the decision to move in together. Both of us somehow feared this step and yet it proved to be an extremely wonderful experience. Then in May of 2008 we made a trip to Europe with a focal point in Italy, where I am from. On May 11th, in Montepulciano, Josh proposed to me. I had a feeling I will never forget: I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. It came as a surprise and yet it seemed like the most obvious and normal decision in the world. Saying yes was the best thing I could think of. As we came back to Seattle I realized how wonderful and healing our relationship is to one another. Although it is beautiful, there are at times difficult straits to pass. We try to cross them with the clearest mind possible and with the best intention to communicate and hear each other. We have become inseparable and yet also are truly independent and free human beings. I could not imagine my life without Josh.