Clear Cut Couples: Katherine and Michael

Katherine and Michael met during a night out on the town when they were both living in Charlotte, NC. Katherine was out with her friends and Michael was out with his. Katherine's friends asked Michael to take a photo of their group. After the pictures, Mike approached Katherine and they hit it off! But they didn't officially start dating until the following year. Not long after meeting, Katherine went back to Wake Forest to finish her senior year of college. While they kept in touch from time to time, they didn't start dating until ....

After finishing college, Katherine moved back to Charlotte to start a new job. Mike had already been living there a year as he had graduated from college a year earlier. On move-in day, Katherine received a text from Mike - they started putting the pieces together and realized Katherine was moving into the apartment directly across the hall from Mike (Katherine still won't admit to this day that she knew that was where Mike lived... but Mike has his suspicions. Cue the stalker jokes)! They kept it friendly for a month or two, but inevitably Mike asked Katherine to go to a rooftop bar for drinks. Luckily, they hit it off, otherwise it could have led to some awkward encounters in their shared hallway! They went on their first date a over four years ago and have been together ever since!

The week of Mike and Katherine's first date, Mike learned that he was going to have to move to San Francisco for work the following year. He jokingly told her to move with him on the first date but they knew the cross-country move would be looming if they continued to pursue the relationship. Long story short, they have done 2 cross-country moves and lived in 3 different cities over the past four years of their relationship. After about 4 months of long distance between Charlotte and SF, Katherine made the move to California. They loved their time in SF, but two years later they decided to move back to NYC to be closer to friends and family. They have so many special and unique memories from each city.

Mike enjoys making reservations at new restaurants to try on date night, so Katherine didn't think anything of it when Mike made a reservation at Loring Place a month in advance. With their apartment just around the corner from the restaurant, they walked over together and made a detour through the scenic Washington Mews. It was there that Mike took a knee and proposed to Katherine while a photographer jumped out of hiding to capture the moment. When they finally made it to dinner, Katherine and Mike's families were there to surprise them. After an amazing meal, the surprises weren’t over. Friends joined them, too! Late in the night, Mike convinced the group to make a trip to Van Leeuwen's for a celebratory scoop of ice cream.

Katherine was very surprised! She thought it was going to happen soon, but did not expect it to happen that night - even her sister setting up a nail appointment didn't tip her off. She was shocked when she saw the ring - it is stunning and exactly what she had wanted (possibly helped by the hundreds of pictures she had sent Mike over the years LOL).

They are planning to get married at the Ocean Reef Club in Fall 2020. Katherine spent a lot of time there growing up and over the years it has become a special place for both Katherine and Mike to spend time together.

Ready to start designing your dream engagement ring with us? Book a call here

Want to bling it on this season? Shop our curated collection made in NYC with natural diamonds here