Reception

Now that we have nailed down a wedding date, a lot of other decisions seem to be falling into place. As of yesterday we signed papers for what we plan to be a fantastic reception space. After exploring quite a few different venus of varying type, hotels, wineries, old church ballrooms, we narrowed it down to Pravda Studios. Pravda is a combo studio/event space and gives us a nice blank canvas in the heart of Captiol Hill. Better yet, it's walking distance from the St. Ignatius Chapel.

Wedding Date

Kate and I have marked off one decision from our Wedding Checklist. We've put a deposit down on a wedding date after quite a bit of wrangling with plenty of different schedules. That date will be...

St. Ignatius Chapel, Seattle

June 23rd, 2012.

So mark your calendars. In pen.

First Date - Joseph's Perspective

Kate, as you can tell from the previous posts, was pretty intrigued and gave me her phone number. It took me a couple of days to use it, I probably waited until Tuesday or so to give her a call. If I remember correctly I called right after I left work, but got her voicemail. It might have been strategic so that I wouldn't have to actually talk to her, but would make her have to call me back. I left a message letting her know who I was (remember the handsome blonde man from the Halloween party?) and if she "wanted to grab a drink" that weekend. My heart was pounding, and it took me a few minutes to actually build up the courage to make the call in the first place. I hope that didn't come across over the phone.

She called back later that evening and again my nerves struck as soon as I heard the phone ring, but I got it together and answered. She said that she'd love to go on a date, however this weekend she was going to be out of town at her friends Stacy & Ray's wedding, "how about sometime the following week?" So we set up a date the following Wednesday night after she got back, I was going to pick her up and we were going to try out a bar I had been meaning to check out, Sun Liquor. The webpage doesn't give very much away, and I didn't know anything about the place at the time so the bar really could have gone either way. A little bit bold, but I figured it was on Capitol Hill, it showed I was edgy enough, but still liked a good drink.

I picked Kate up at her fancy house in Laurelhurst and we headed to the bar. The date was kind of a blur, she ordered a margarita (I think) and I probably had a manhattan. She wore polka dots and I wore a green sweater with a corduroy jacket. I asked about her shoes, and we delved more into each others lives. There was a lot of talking, smiling, laughing and I'll assume looking back that her body language was positive.

Kate's 1st Date Outfit

Time flew by pretty quickly, and it was time for a second drink. Being a work night Kate didn't want to order a second (and I guess show her potential suitor that she's a classy woman who doesn't get drunk on the first date), but neither of us wanted the date to end. I suggested a cup of coffee at a nearby Capitol Hill institution: Bauhaus. A place I spent many a late night studying during my time at Seattle U. She agreed and we continued our conversation for another hour or so over lattes.

It got pretty late and I drove her home, walked her to the door and got a hug. Maybe I got a peck on the cheek. Honestly I don't remember. I do know that I felt pretty good about the date, great about how the conversation was easy and fluid with her, and excited that we talked about meeting again soon. Little did I know at that time our next date was really going to consist of Kate introducing me, in an intimate setting, to every one of her close friends in Seattle. Sink or swim. 

How Joe and I Met – Kate’s Perspective

When Joe starts with, “accounts of how Kate and I met differ a little depending on who you ask” he’s making of bit of an understatement. You should know that the now-married couple who introduced us have a bit of a feud going of who gets more of the responsibility for setting us up.  Joe also seems to think that I was WAY into him when we first met.  But here’s how I remember it.

 

After living in Seattle for a year and half, I wasn’t having much luck on the dating scene. My good friend Kim had recently started seeing this guys Dan, who I had met a few times and seemed like a good dude.  Kim told me that he had a friend, Joe, that she wanted me to meet. I told her that I would be open to that idea.

 

When Dan’s Halloween party came around, Kim mentioned that Joe would be there.  I asked a few questions about the guy, she said he was a shoe photographer. I wasn’t sure how anyone could make a living doing this but I was definitely curious. Most of all she told me he was cute and that I would like him.

 

Now, you should know, I love Halloween. I get real excited about putting together my costume. I had long ago decided that this would be the year that I would be one of my own personal heroes Kelly Kapowski.  And I was pumped. 

 

Dan’s party was in full swing by the time we arrived.  And I recall Kim tracked me down pretty quickly to introduce me to Joe.  I remember thinking straight away that he was pretty cute.  And Kim was right, he was just my type. 

 

Now, I should say that I put a lot of thought an effort into my costume.  And I remember distinctly when I asked Joe what he was supposed to be, he said, “uhhh...I don’t know.” 

 

Well, I thought that was pretty lame and I didn’t mind telling him so.  I mean if you are going to be a tourist, why not really do it?  Wear shorts with black socks, a little zinc oxide on the nose, camera, maybe a cheesy fannypack, put a map in your pocket.  What takes a costume from boring to great is the details that you put in. I thought Joe was being a stick in the mud – he bought a $2 hat and called it good.  But if you know me, you know that I only tease you if I like you, so this was a good sign for Joe right off the bat. 

 

We quickly developed an easy banter and talked about being from California, our rival high schools and Halloween costumes.  

 

With it getting late and being in the boonies of west Seattle our little crew needed to call a cab to get back to civilization. When I went outside to try and direct the driver to where we were, Joe followed me out there.  I have a distinct memory of the sheepish look on his face when he asked for my number, clearly not a player but cute still the same. 

 

I should note here that there’s an even longer story about that night about how another married couple got their start that same night but to protect both the innocent I will keep this about Joe and I. 

How Kate and I Met - Joseph's Perspective

Accounts of how Kate and I met differ a little depending on who you ask, Kate may have her own version, but I'm going to let you know how it happened.

It started with a BBQ in September 2006 at my apartment on Queen Anne. I had recently bought a gas grill and  trying to get as much use out of it during the dwindling summer months in Seattle as I could. I had invited my friend Dan whom I had met in college and he brought his new girlfriend Kim. She was pretty brave to come and meet so many new people, especially if you know a few of my friends. I'll lovingly call them "graphic". She handled herself well, as did my friends. About halfway through the evening Kim started telling me about her friend and sorority sister Kate and how she wanted to somehow introduce the two of us. Always up for a challenge, I was eager to see how Kim was going to engineer this encounter.

Gas Grill

Luckily for me, Halloween was rapidly approaching, and those of you who know Dan, know that he can throw epic Halloween parties. So Dan invited me. And dropped the hint that Kim's friend Kate would be attending. I immediately got to work creating an equally epic costume. A quick trip to Value Village and $3 later, I had a sombrero. Partnered with a Hawaiian shirt that I already owned, I was ready to go. I was a tourist. I went to the party with my old college roommate and current workmate Sam, who was dressed in an equally impressive costume. He took a free shirt I had gotten from Beecher's Cheese in Pike Place Market and paired it with a whoopee cushion. He was a "cheese cutter".

Sam as "Cheesecutter" and Kim wearing my hat

We arrived and at the party, fashionably late, though still too early for Kate and her friends. Making small talk with various people and catching up with Dan we noticed a large group of people arrive, and I was told that within this group was the "great girl" that "you have to meet". Eventually after some hounding, somehow Kim introduced the two of us and we started talking. Kate immediately decided to make fun of my tourist costume, and I'm sure I made poked fun at hers as well. She had dressed as Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell, a crowd favorite. It turned out that we both grew up in the Bay Area, that we went to rival highschools, and that her father even taught at my highschool while I was there years ago. Though I wasn't quite smart enough for that math class at the time. There were a lot of other things that we seemed to have in common and we chatted for quite a while.

Kate as "Kelly Kapowski"

We parted ways, I went back to talking with Sam, Kate went elsewhere. Soon it looked like Kate was going to leave. Kim demanded that I get her number (which was going to happen regardless, I could see the spark in Kate's eyes). Somehow the two of us ended up on Dan's balcony and I asked for her number, which she eagerly gave to me and we parted ways. Needless to say, I was had a great night.

Kate and I even made it into the background of someone else's photo

Our first and second dates... were interesting...