Katie & Austin

Katie Dery Long and Austin Long met thanks to their mothers and a little bit of fate!

“I visited my mom for Thanksgiving in 2008 and accompanied her to the doctor. As we walked in, Austin and I caught each other’s eyes but he said hello to my mom,” Katie smiles. “When we checked in, Austin’s mom, Julie, was working at the front desk. He had come to the hospital to see her, but then he disappeared. We checked in and then Julie told me to wait for a minute. She came back with a picture of her son, saying that he was looking for a girlfriend. At first, this seemed really strange. I just laughed and said he’s really cute! Before we left, she handed me a note with Austin’s name and number on it. I was so excited that I texted him right away!

“My mom and I went to the grocery store, and as we shopped I told her how cute I thought Austin was. He was right behind me and heard the whole thing!” Austin invited Katie to a movie that night; but before the movie they had their first dinner date—at Taco Bell! “I knew right away that he was the one for me! After the movie, we stood outside in the freezing cold talking until it finally started to snow and we couldn’t stand outside any longer! Little did we know this would be the beginning of our lives together!”

Austin enlisted the help of their friends Taylor and Levi to assist with his proposal on July 13, 2013. “We love hiking in the fall at Lake Marie. We drove up with our friends, talking about all the times we had been there and how beautiful it was. Austin made sure that I had the camera, but that typical because we always took pictures together when we were there. We walked down to a rock near the lake and I had just told Taylor and Levi that I wanted to take some pictures of them since they didn’t love their wedding photos. They went down to the rock and posed for a few pictures, then told Austin and me to go down and they would take a few pictures of us.

“Before I knew it, we were standing on the rock and Austin was down on one knee asking me to marry him! I was so surprised and didn’t know what else to do other than cry happy tears! I said ‘Yes!’ The best part was having Taylor and Levi catch it on camera! I guess that was Austin’s plan after all! We will be able to relive this moment for years to come!

The blissful couple tied the knot on December 14, 2014. Katie chose Crystal Roybal as Maid of Honor; bridesmaids were Jackie Brand, Kara Doren and Taylor Kissack. Austin’s Best Man was Brandon Guite and groomsmen were Jordon Jensen, Levi Kissack and Logan Pokallus.

“We signed our marriage license the day before the wedding, 12/13/14, which was our six-year anniversary,” reveals Katie. “We had everyone in attendance of signing our marriage license sign as witnesses!

“The day was beautiful, with snow, just as we wanted, and the photos outside were awesome. Most of our wedding décor was handmade, including the invitations. We wanted a lot of small handmade details, and I made the bouquets and boutonnières. One of our best friends officiated the wedding, where we read our vows written to each other and made a unity box filled with items from our past, present and future.”

Katie and Austin honeymooned in Cabo San Lucas at the Pueblo Bonito Los Cabos Resort, where they parasailed, snorkeled and relaxed. HLM