It all started in a small bar in downtown Bismarck called The Elbow Room.  Marie was there for Mark Yantzer's (one of the bridemaid's dads) 50th birthday party.  Along walks in Kyle, who was there to meet up with her brother, Thomas, and while standing there looking around, Marie said, "Hi Kyle!"  His response..."I don't know you."  Marie explained that she was Thomas's sister and then his tone turned into, "Well hello..." as he put his arm around her.  They talked and funny enough at the end of the night, Kyle was at the bar with her dad, Tom, and telling him how he was going to marry her, take care of her, etc.  With the far and few in between times they got together, 2 years later the talk is exactly how the story would continue.

It was a November bowling tournament in Bismarck and Kyle was looking for a place to stay.  Kyle, Blake, and Larry (Larry is another groomsman), ended up staying at Marie's house.  We all hung out and you could tell that there was clearly something going on between them.  The conversation continued, A LOT!  Basically to the point where there was no reason not to just dive right in and start a relationship besides the distance...oh yeah, and the friend/brother aspect of it, but we got that all figured out!  That's where the daily constant texting/emailing, late night phone calls, and numerous trips back and forth on HWY 83 all started.  We could honestly drive that road with our eyes closed, that's how many trips they made over 2 years.

Now that the relationship was full-blown and things were getting more serious, there was talk of Kyle moving to Bismarck and finally in May 2013, he packed up and settled in with not just 1 woman, but 1 woman and two little girls!!  Talk about throwing him to the wolves!  The relationship grew, not only with Kyle and Marie, but also as a family.