The Beginning
Hannah and Lars go way back. Hannah was close friends with Lars’ sister, Annika, and their families shared many meals and memories. But Hannah and Lars’ paths stayed safely parallel: just close enough for some occasional awkward flirting, but not close enough to ignite a courtship. They both attended Macalester College, and after graduating they went in their own directions.
As Hannah prepared to return from a job in Washington, D.C. to start medical school at the University of Minnesota in 2011, she schemed up a few months of South American travel that brought their paths together again. Her itinerary included a not-so-accidental stop in Argentina, where Lars was living and working at the time.
The Plot Thickens
The debate about who kicked off their romantic relationship is unsettled. Lars did—after a well-chosen glass of Malbec on his balcony overlooking the cobblestoned Palermo neighborhood in Buenos Aires—ask for the first kiss. But, Hannah counters that without her spendy plane ticket to Argentina, there would have been no balcony, no glass of wine, and no kiss. It’s a bit chicken-or-egg. And, as two Type A, first-born children, they will probably stubbornly debate this (and other things) for most of their lives.
In the months following the fateful Argentina Encounter, the two grappled with their status. Was this a kiss to resolve years of accumulated tension? Or was this the start of something big? Distance was also a factor; Hannah was in Minnesota, and Lars was in Argentina and soon heading to graduate school in Washington D.C.
But, in spite of the distance—and with thanks due to Skype and Sun Country Airlines—they fell in love, bonding over a shared love of Minnesota lakes, fine food, morning coffee, intentional design, latin dancing, and simplicity.
A New Life Together
After finishing his master’s program in May 2014, Lars moved back to Minnesota. He and Hannah bought some oversized plants (Della and Eduardo), rented an undersized apartment, and began a life together. As Hannah approached her medical residency several months later, it became apparent that she would have to make a decision: to stay in Minnesota, or not. Lars was in Minnesota. But she wasn’t gonna stay if he wasn’t all in. Lars was, in retrospect he admits, a little slow in his proposal. But he had something specific in mind.
Hannah spent her childhood summers at a family cabin deep up the Boulder Canyon in southwestern Montana, ten miles by pack over the mountains from Yellowstone. The two had briefly discussed having their wedding out there, but it seemed too complicated, logistically. A mountain proposal seemed to Lars like a good substitute, to acknowledge the importance of Montana to Hannah. In August 2015, on a day hike to a mountain meadow overlooking snowy peaks, Hannah said “yes”.
Hannah and Lars are now excitedly looking toward the future and all it entails—starting with the July party they will be sharing with you. Until that time they’ll be busy drafting to-do lists and time schedules for each other, lovingly, with smirks.
