I don’t know what it is about Rachel and Nate, but I felt like I clicked with them immediately. Maybe it was the fact that they brought their dog Kaia, and I love any and all dogs. Or the fact that Rachel works for Lush, which makes me super jealous! But whatever it is, we had a great time running around the mountains and taking photos. These two tried to tell me they were awkward in front of the camera! What!? They look like super models together! I am SO looking forward to their wedding in August!

Now some Q&A from the handsome Nate…

How did you two meet?

We were neighbors when we met. Rachel travels for work about every other week and I never knew when she was going to be around. I was always excited when she was, but tried to play it off cool and casually ask her when she was going to be home. I remember the first time Rachel called me while she was on one of many of her work visits. We chatted for well over an hour that night. I felt that I was her tie back to home. I would send Rachel photos of me cuddling with her, now our, dog Kaia and would always laugh about the funny things she did– like smiling with a full mouth of teeth showing! Eventually we stopped being neighbors and started living together. The rest is history!

How did you propose?

Back in February I went on a skiing hut trip with my best friend up in Leadville, and I was in a coffee shop where they had these cool 3D wooden renditions of the many 14ers in the area. That is where I first had the idea. I casually dropped the idea that we go hike Mt. Elbert (the tallest point in CO) early on in the spring. Rachel really loves to hike 14ers, so I knew she would be on board. After work one day in July, I picked up some red roses and filled a large mason jar with the petals. When we were at the top of the mountain, I went up to a Dad, told him I was about to propose, and asked him to take a lot of photos. We had a sign with the altitude written on it, and I gently tossed it in front of Rachel so she had to step forward to pick it up. As she did, I stepped back and scattered the roses on the snow behind us. There were about 50 people on the summit that day and everyone went quiet. As she turned around I was down on knee and popped the question. She said yes and the mountain erupted in cheers and applause. I don’t really remember the hike down because we were so excited…but we made it back somehow!

What are your favorite things to do together?

We love the outdoors, so hiking, skiing, and trail running are high on the list! We also enjoy casual nights making dinner and snuggling up with our pup. We recently moved to a new neighborhood in Boulder, and love taking walks to get to know our new area.