How We Met
Kevin and I met on a Disney dating website called MouseMingle! We are both HUGE Disney fans! We matched at 100% compatibility and they couldn’t have been more right! On our first date July 12th, 2016 we met at an Italian restaurant because it reminded us of Lady and the Tramp. Kevin asked the waiter three or four times what the specials were because he was so distracted and nervous, it was absolutely adorable! He asked me all about my family and my passions and we talked about our love for Disney. Our favorite rides, characters, movies, songs….the list goes on! We immediately knew we were perfect for each other.
Later that evening, he asked permission to hold my hand while we were driving to Rosario Beach to watch the sun set. At the beach I showed him all the little crabs underneath the rocks because he’d only recently moved to the PNW (he’s in the Navy). He held my hand and kissed me while we were standing on these beautiful driftwood logs. As the date came to an end we were sitting on a picnic table and he told me nothing would make him happier than for us to be together. (May I just say…I’d had other guys ask me to be their girlfriend on the first date and I was like….I don’t know you!!! With Kevin it was like…..well YAH!!!!)
how they asked
I had never been so happy or so comfortable and it was scary! We went on our first trip to Disneyland in September. One night while we were there, we walked around the park until we were almost the last ones there. In the middle of Main Street, Kevin took my hands and look into my eyes, he told me he had asked my Father’s permission for my hand in marriage and that we were on our way to being engaged!!! It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I had a man who loved me and respected my wishes and my parents. It was amazing. We got engaged on December 11th, 2016 the night before, we had seen The Little Mermaid at the Paramount Theater in Seattle.
We were exhausted that morning but my little sister wanted us to take her to the beach we’d been to on our first date. She’d talked about going there for several weeks so I figured we better do it before it got any colder outside. As we got to the beach, I pointed out to her the picnic table where Kevin asked for me to be his girlfriend and as we walked down to the water I could smell the salty air and took a deep, deep breath. My sister said, “I see some info boards over there, I’m going to go read them” and I didn’t think anything of it. Kevin and I headed towards the waters edge and we held hands and kissed and took a minute to just take in the beautiful scenery. Kevin took both my hands and looked into my eyes, took a deep breath and said “I have something to ask you…..what do you think about buying one of those houses over there?” and pointed to a group of houses on the hill above the beach.
I was kind of taken aback….we’d talk about that many times before and we couldn’t afford those homes at this time and I reminded him of that. At this point I was a little suspicious. After that he knelt down on one knee…..OPEN THE RING BOX UPSIDE DOWN and said “Kelsey Atwood-Knudson, will you marry me?” I was SO happy!! Totally shocked and blown away!! When I said YES he put the ring on my finger and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I didn’t even notice during the proposal that my sister was recording this and Kevin had hired a photographer! As the photographer came up to us and gave us some directions on what to do for the photos….I kept asking Kevin “Are you sure?! Are you sure?! You’re SURE you’re sure?!” I must have asked him a thousand times that evening….”You really want to marry me?!” His answer was always….”Yes sweetheart more than anything in the world”.
It was an absolutely perfect day. After the proposal we went to my parents house and told my parents and two grandfathers at dinner. Everyone was beaming and so excited. Those photos with my grandfathers are precious to me. To see their smiles because of our happiness. Overall, our whole story has been a fairytale. We got married on April 17th, 2017 and everything at the wedding was Disney themed. It was absolutely magical. The best part about the wedding was the fact that know I’M MARRIED!!! True love exists girls! My Prince Charming found me, yours will find you!
