It All Began in Bellingham

Like all great love stories, Lauren and Cale met at a house party during Lauren’s freshman year at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. There was an instant connection, but the timing wasn’t right.

Years later, the two matched on a dating app. It didn’t last—typical app fate—but Cale insists to this day that he had a massive crush on Lauren the whole time, and, according to him, she was the only girl he even messaged.

Not long after, Cale moved to California to pursue his passion for industrial design at California College of the Arts, while Lauren finished her business degree. Over the years, they kept tabs on each other as life carried on.

Then, in the summer of 2022 — twelve years after they met— Cale worked up the courage to reach out to Lauren to let her know he was moving back home and suggested they catch up once he's in town. The timing was finally right.

A few months later, they went on their first date. It was a beautiful, warm August day when they met at King’s Hardware in Ballard — Shasta, Cale's dog, in tow; which, to his surprise, Lauren encouraged him to bring. They spent the afternoon wandering through Ballard Consignment, bonding over their shared love of furniture, before ending up at a local Thai spot. The two talked for hours, completely losing track of time, and hardly noticing the sun starting to set. Wanting to make the date last a little longer, Lauren suggested they head to Golden Gardens to watch the sunset. Cale obliged. That date, which quickly turned into an entire day, felt familiar and special — like they had known each other for years. In a way, they had.

And that’s how the first of many dates — and surprise bouquets of flowers — began.

Fast forward two years, and Cale got down on one knee in Kauai, at the pier in Hanalei Bay, celebrating with dear family and friends directly after. It was perfect.