To kick off the "Our Love Story" series, I wanted to share a very special detail about our wedding: the location. 

Forbidden Swimming Hole

It was a moderate day in mid-September. Ryan and I decided on Klondike Park for our first date and I was so nervous I was running around my house trying to remember everything I would need for a hike in the woods. He was the most handsome man I had ever talked to and I was already a clumsy mess before he even arrived but the moment he came to pick me up, all of my nerves melted and we headed to the park. 

Most of the trees were still green but the select few that changed their hue early had littered the trails with a beautiful carpet of orange leaves that crunched under our feet as we made our way up the daunting hills. We discussed everything from our hobbies to our families and spent the entire day laughing together. As we hiked, we seemed to take interest in the same things off the trails - plants, spider webs, unique rocks - and would stop together to analyze them and he would wait patiently while I worked on getting the best photos of anything I saw. 

I remember how great I felt that day - so free, so heard, so comfortable. I was completely myself and I could tell that there was something special about him and that this was different than any other first date I had ever been on before. 

Skip forward five years, we're engaged and looking for the perfect venue for our wedding and reception and Klondike Park is the only thing on our minds. Sitting at our favorite coffee shop, our table littered with the laptop and lists, we made the phone call and set a time to visit the facility and ask them questions about this gorgeous location. As soon as we stepped inside the building, we both knew that this had to be the place where we say "I Do"! The far wall is a collage of windows from floor to ceiling and there is a second level that can be accessed by a spiral staircase as well as a beautiful balcony off of the main room that faces a spectacular sandstone bluff. This place screams "Brittany and Ryan" and given how sentimental the two of us are, we knew that it would be better than perfect for us! 

And so it is decided: on April 21, 2018, when I get to marry the man of my dreams, I get to do so at the place where we had our first date! 

Ryan and BrittanyA little selfie before our engagement session at Klondike Park