Raleigh NC Engagement Session | Katie + Mark

Mark and I met on May 5, 2018. We went to a party with mutual friends. The first half of the day was a Kentucky Derby party and later in the night, the party transitioned to a Cinco de Mayo party. Mark asked me for my number and we went on a date about a week later. After that, the rest is history! A little fun fact is that our close friends, Emily and Sean, also met on the same date at the same party! They are now engaged as well!

One of Mark’s greatest hobbies is flying! He recently got his license and Katie was his first passenger. Unbeknownst to Katie, Katie and Mark hosted a small dinner party the week before the engagement. During the dinner, Katie’s best friend Lauren was talking to Mark about going up for a flight. It was then decided that the next Saturday was supposed to have the most gorgeous fall weather and that the group of 4 (Mark, Katie, Lauren, and her husband Matt) would go for a flight and grab lunch afterwards. Lauren told Katie she couldn’t go last minute as she had to rush to Charlotte to be with her sister who just had a baby (true story!). Katie and Mark were already at the airport though, so there was no turning back. Right before takeoff, Mark lost the key to the plane and refused to check his pockets for the key. This should have been a red flag but Katie didn’t think twice about it! While up in the air, Katie wasn’t feeling well as she was coming down with a cold. She ultimately decided she was going to take a short nap which panicked Mark. Mark yelled, “Katie!”. She jolted awake concerned to what could be going on. He then said, “Will you be my copilot for forever?” The inside scoop is that there is a YouTube video that details a man faking a plane crashing and makes his girlfriend read the emergency checklist and at the end asks the same question. Katie always told Mark this was so mean and she would never want something of this nature. So, of course, she thought he was joking! They then flew over his parents house where he had the UNC Field Crew spray paint the question “Will you marry me, Katie?” which is when she then realized this was actually happening! She said YES! They returned back to the airport where their families were waiting with a champagne toast. They then went back to Mark’s parents house where all of their friends were gathered for a big surprise party to celebrate afterwards!