Linda & Kris – Sammamish, WA

It was a Friday evening, March 4th, 2005 in downtown Kirkland. Both Kris and Linda were out with friends visiting the Kirkland nightlife. Kris was playing pool and Linda was talking with friends. They made eye contact across the bar and immediately Kris came over and introduced himself. “Hi, my name is Kris” was his opening line.  One of their most memorable dates was when Kris took Linda to the Seattle Art Museum and then dinner at the Brooklyn restaurant. The Art Museum was displaying Egyptian artifacts — a passion of Linda’s.  At the Brooklyn, during their three-hour meal, they sampled oysters from different areas including Wescott Bay, which is in the San Juan Islands where Linda and Kris would get married four years later!

When it was time to look at engagement rings, Kris and Linda decided to go ring shopping at several stores so Kris knew what style Linda preferred. They first went to EE Robbins in Bellevue and met Courtney Mindemann. Later Courtney would help Kris plan his proposal at Morton’s in Seattle. They both thought that EE Robbins had so many styles to choose from, and with Linda knowing exactly what she wanted, they never had to shop anywhere else. Kris said, “I did end up shopping around for best price, but found that EE Robbins had the best price and the best warranty. Plus, EE Robbins was the only store that allowed me to take the diamonds outside and look at them in natural light.” Kris was sold and has never looked back since. Even to this day, Linda still takes her ring in to be inspected every six months. It truly is the perfect ring that captures “who we really are”.

The proposal – It was Saturday July 19th, 2008 and Kris and Linda had spent the day knowing they were going to celebrate Kris’s mother’s birthday that night at Morton’s Restaurant in Seattle. Linda really had NO idea Kris was going to propose. However, Linda did think it was odd that Kris chose to go to Morton’s for his mom’s birthday since her favorite restaurant is the Metropolitan Grill and Linda’s favorite restaurant is Morton’s.  When Kris and Linda arrived at Morton’s they walked down the stairs and were greeted by the General Manager, Mike. Mike escorted them to their table. As they turned the corner, Linda noticed in the private dining room a man who looked oddly familiar – her Dad? Then she noticed her Mom, her future mother-in-law, and future sister-in-law sitting in the dining room.  Now, Linda knew something was up.

Linda went around the table, giving hugs and kisses to everyone, waiting for Kris to say something. Kris escorted her to her chair where there was a long stemmed rose. He kissed her, stood, and made his announcement (which is all on video tape thanks to her sister-in-law!!!). Kris said, “Thank you all for coming. We are here today because I love Linda very much . . . ” and the rest was all a blur! Kris got down on one knee, told Linda how much he loved her and proposed! Linda, of course, said yes!  After the proposal, they opened gifts and cards from their family and had a wonderful dinner. Kris had ordered flowers to the table for each of the ladies as a gesture of his love, appreciation, and gratitude.

After dessert Mike, the GM, brought complimentary after dinner drinks to the table as a congratulatory gesture. Linda learned later that evening that their server had come in on her night off to specifically serve their table, and their table only.  Thinking the proposal was over, when they arrived home, Kris had created a video/slide show of every single picture and video they had taken since they first met! It was set to the music, “Lucky” by Jason Mraz, which is now “their song”. It was beautiful! With tears in their eyes, Kris and Linda reminisced as the pictures brought up found memories of their lives over the last four years.

It was the perfect engagement! Intimate, classy, and surrounded by the most important people in their lives along with the perfect engagement ring.  Linda loved that Kris proposed in front of their parents. That shows his character, his devotion, and his appreciation of family.

Kris and Linda were married at Roche Harbor in the San Juan Islands one year later on the date of their engagement, July 19th. They currently live in Sammamish, WA.