Boston Harbor Hotel – Kori and Mike
Kori and Mike, as my mom would say, have “kind faces”. My mom judges people just based on how their faces are kept, how deep their smile lines are, how calm their demeanors are, and how quick they are to react. She’s never met Kori and Mike, but I know that she’d say that they were good people.
I think so, too. 🙂
The two are wonderfully calm and generously smiley apart, but together, there are absolute sparks and an certain feel of “complete-ness”. Mike says that she and Kori clicked on day 1, but the “true moment’ came when they traveled to Disney World together in Orlando. Many would be cautious to travel with someone that they had only been dating for a few months, but for them, there was such a strong feel of comfort, that it was all okay. It just felt right, and it began to feel “more right” when they were both at the airport traveling back to Massachusetts. Mike says, “She looked at me and, with the cutest smile ever, she said “I’m not good at surprises and I need to give you this now.” She pulled out a Pluto stuffed animal and I couldn’t stop laughing. I took the same one out of my bag that I had gotten for her and click… I knew we were meant for each other”.
I have a younger brother, with special needs. Alex is severe on the Autism spectrum and much of my childhood was caring for him. My parents did a great job of making sure I felt loved, but it was an understanding that we had to do special things for Alex because of his condition. I like to think that growing up this way has made me a “caretaker” kind of a person. I share well (mainly because he would just take stuff from me, like most little brothers do), and I’m fiercely protective of my closest friends and family. However, I date (and live with) an only child. My one employee is an only child. My best friend is an only child. I COMPLETELY understand only child syndrome. I point it out. They scrunch up their face. We laugh over it.
Mike and Kori told me that they were both only children. Mike admits that on paper, it sounds like they’re two spoiled kids. However, I’d argue that statement completely. The two selflessly live their lives for each other. They support and love each other unconditionally. He says, “I think it’s amazing how our lives came together and how two people with such strong individual goals were able to join up and fill out the things that were missing while making the other things even better. It’s kinda like mixing chocolate and peanut butter… On their own, they’re pretty awesome and then you put them together and take it to a whole new level.” I agree with this as well, but would argue that chocolate and hazelnut make a better pair. 😉
Their Villa wedding at the Saphire Estate in East Bridgewater was nothing short of beautiful. Everything from a blindfolded car ride to the venue (so that they could have their first look at the Villa) to Mother Nature giving us a perfect temperature for an outdoor wedding went smoothly.
Mike and Kori, I love you both. Enjoy your running adventures, secret language, dreaming about your future dog, and Oxford commas. I admire you both greatly and have no doubt that you’ll have many happy years together.
The Proposal: It was a quiet night on June 4, 2014. Kori had come home from class and Mike had prepared a delicious dinner. Contrary to common belief, this was not an immediate giveaway since Mike actually does cook on occasion, but I digress. Anyway, at exactly 8pm as Kori sat on the couch with her dessert brownie, strange text messages flooded her phone: “I” from Myla, “Y” from Sarah, “H” from Claudia, “R” from Missy, “M” from Mike P, “A” and “R” from the Zac(k)s, “M” from Court and “!” from Halley. By the time she decoded the message (“MARRY HIM!”), Mike was on his knee with the ring in hand and the “YES” came soon after. As cute as ever, Kori followed that up with a “Can I wear it?” to which Mike also replied with an ecstatic yes.
