The Proposal!

Ari told Ko that if she proposed, Ari would say no. So, Ko had no choice, but to wait for Ari to do so.

Ko always wanted to get married before having children. And for Ari, the ultimate commitment and happiness was a child. So, why not to both at the same time?

Knowing Korina, you all know that she already knew almost exactly the type of ring she wanted, and that she started sending Ari rings (wink-wink).

Ari finally got the ring and had a whole plan to propose when she would get back from a day trip to Montreal, but she couldn’t wait.

The day she got the ring, she got home, and while Ko was in sweat pants, crying while watching This is Us, Ari was in what would soon be Jamar’s bedroom prepping for the proposal. Ari wrote reasons on the wall (on post-its) why she loves Ko and had a video prepared of memories together.

Ari came out of the room in her suit, had Ko watch the video on her computer. Then, she walked Ko inside Jamar’s bedroom and had her read the reasons on the wall. When Ko turned back to Ari, she was on one knee and had the ring in her hand asking Ko to marry her.

Bonus: When Ko was sending all those rings to Ari, she had told her the right ring size to get. Then, they went shopping together one day (when Ari had already bought the ring, which was being created and shipped to the size she had said) and Ko tried on the size she thought she was, but it didn’t fit. It was too small. So, Ari was stressed out for an entire week thinking the ring she got wouldn’t fit. But, the day of the proposal (and still today) it fits perfectly.

How We Met!

Some of you might not know it yet, but we met 9 years ago. We both played on the same hockey team the year after Ko’s family moved to Lorraine. Ko was shy and Ari was loud. We weren’t that close at the time.

Nous avons continué nos vies, en gardant contact sur les réseaux sociaux. À l’été 2019, Ari à repost le story Instagram à Ko. Ko a répondu à Ari: “looks familiar”. Nous avons pris des nouvelles de l’une et l’autre. Ari se souvient encore qu’elle était au gym, and it was one of her longest stretching sessions. They kept talking on social media for a little while, saw each other at Pride. In October, they finally decided to go on their first date. They walked Marley for hours. The conversation was just so easy, it felt like she (Ko) understood me like no body else before.

Ari étudiait et jouait au hockey à Bishop’s (Sherbrooke) et Ko étudiait à Carleton (Ottawa). C’était difficile pour nous de s’imaginer une relation à distance, mais encore plus difficile de ne pas essayer. Donc le 10 novembre 2019, nous avons rendu notre relation officielle.

La COVID-19 en mars 2020 a fait en sorte que notre relation à distance s’est transformée, car nous avons déménagé en appartement ensemble... to Gaiter’s biggest disappointment. (Gaiter is our cat and he wasn’t sure about living with our dog, Marley.) Nous avons habité dans un appartement à Sherbrooke pendant que Ko terminait sont université à distance. L’année d’après, nous avons acheté notre condo et emménagé pour commencer notre famille avec l’arrivée de notre beau Jamar.

When & Where

When: June 10th, 2023 (Mark your calendars!)

Where: Manson Barn (4 Chem. Fisher, Austin, QC J0B 1B0)

Parking: Free — at the back of the barn

Ceremony: Across the street, behind the house, by the pond. In case of rain: upper level of the barn

Reception: In the barn