Our Story

On the last night of 2022, the unexpected.

A vagabond rolled into what would one day become his in-laws' home — entirely unaware that his life was about to change. The daughter of the house, a self-searching woman whose relationship status was unclear, expected only to greet a passing stranger. She certainly did not expect to meet her future husband. Especially since, as she had stated quite firmly, military men were undatable.

Despite this — the connection was immediate. They talked through the New Year countdown and well into the small hours of the morning. The pre-dawn light eventually saw one of them gently shown the door. And so a wonderful adventure began.

Four days of seeing each other every day — and then it was time for farewells. Patrick had to return to Petawawa, where he was stationed.

But Catherine would not let him simply slip away into the night. She made the six-hour drive to visit him for the weekend. Patrick was surprised by her enthusiasm. By Monday morning, she had quietly updated her relationship status — and Patrick was happy to make it official.

The next weekend, Patrick flew across the country for a week-long course on Vancouver Island. Three thousand kilometres of test — and they passed it without trying.

Constant contact, the easy rhythm of two people already certain. The first long stretch apart proved what they already suspected.

Patrick was welcomed home at the Ottawa airport by Catherine. The weekend was filled with romance. Both felt certain.

In a moment of anticipation, Patrick was the first to say “I love you” — much to Catherine’s playful chagrin (she had, of course, planned to say it first).

With Patrick temporarily posted to Valcartier, the couple decided to share a roof. The transition was easy — the kind of easy that surprises you only because you'd expected something harder.

A new chapter, written in furniture and groceries and the quiet certainty of home.

To celebrate nearly a year together — and before Patrick's posting to Manitoba — they flew to Mexico. Travel hiccups came and went.

The trip stayed unforgettable. Saltwater, sun, and the deepening certainty that whatever came next, they would face it together.

Then came the longest test.

Pilot training took Patrick to Southport, Manitoba — fourteen months of prairie horizon and FaceTime calls and long flights in either direction. Catherine visited as often as the calendar would allow. She organised a surprise party for his thirtieth birthday — a small conspiracy across two provinces.

It was a hard season. It was also the season that proved they could endure anything.

Catherine and her family travelled to Southport to watch Patrick earn his Wings in the Royal Canadian Air Force. A milestone. A turning point.

Two months of semi-distance remained — and then, finally, a posting to Edmonton. The next chapter was already in the air.

On the last day of June, the couple moved to Alberta and into military quarters. The adjustment was real. So was the joy.

After a year and a half of distance, the small daily rituals of a shared life — coffee, dishes, evening walks — felt like miracles.

A journey two years in the making.

The couple flew to Europe for the wedding of Patrick's friend Davit, in Georgia. Patrick had already secured Catherine's father's blessing weeks before. At dawn on August 28th, on the Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome, beneath the angels and the brightening sky, he asked.

She said “Yes!” — through joyful tears.

With wedding planning underway, Patrick was posted away once more — this time to Gagetown.

After Manitoba, a few months of distance was nothing they couldn't handle. They had become experts at the art of returning to one another.

In July, Patrick came home for good.

Six years from a New Year's Eve neither of them saw coming, and almost a year out from the day they will exchange vows beneath an arch on the cliffs of Charlevoix, the story is no longer about distance.

It is about everything that comes after.