Our Story
What brought us together, and what we've been up to since!
It was the beginning of September in 2017 when we first met at Brett's housewarming party, after being introduced by a mutual friend. We connected immediately, and by mid-October we decided to make things official despite Sylvie getting ready to embark on a year-long study abroad in Wellington, NZ...
Before we knew it, the school semester was ending and it was time for Sylvie to move out of her house on Shelbourne Street. Hoping to get one more adventure in before her exchange, Brett offered to drive down to California with her.
While Sylvie was in New Zealand, Brett visited for an adventure-packed 3 weeks, the highlight of which was our road-trip camping around the South Island.
After 6 months in Wellington, Sylvie's bank account was in the negatives and her credits weren't all transferring back to UVic. She decided it was for the best to move back to Victoria which serendipitously was when Brett was looking for a new place to rent... And so began the chapter of our house on Quadra Street!
2019 was a blur, during which we traveled lots (Canadian Rockies, Mexico, Yellowknife), Sylvie graduated from UVic with a BA in Psychology, and we had a wonderfully social summer where friends and family visited from all over. Sylvie embraced Canadian culture and we attended a ton of local hockey games (Go Royals!), and Brett experienced his first American Thanksgiving in Berkeley (it was like the movies!).
After our big Europe trip was abruptly cancelled, we found an amazing rental in Oaklands. We were both grateful to hang on to our jobs while there was so much uncertainty, and we spent most of our free time out and about (oot and aboot) exploring and camping our way around Vancouver Island and the south coast of BC.
As pandemic continued, we felt fortunate to be on the island spending our time baking bread and getting out on bike rides around Victoria. The border finally opened in August and Sylvie's parents made the trek up to the island. We spent 4 weekends in a row taking them to all of our favourite spots. A silver lining of the pandemic was getting to explore close to home, and then share that with the people we love.
A new community garden popped up in our neighbourhood and we got a plot! Brett joined the garden management committee as the co-chair and director of operations, and we spent A LOT of time gardening and reaping the rewards. Sylvie started a new fully remote job in June 2022 and we explored further from home - made possible by both of us working remotely. Fast forward to August 21st, after a "birthday weekend" filled with kayaking, surfing and good times with friends - Brett proposed at Big Beach in Ucluelet and Sylvie said YES!
We started our wedding planning, and continued building our community and roots in Victoria. We traveled up and down the west coast, and spent lots of time visiting with family and friends. Brett had an exciting work opportunity to travel to Europe, and the summer months passed quickly. Before we knew it, we were one year away from the big day!
The past 6+ years have been nothing short of an adventure. We've been so lucky to spend time with loved ones, explore new coasts, and work our bums off. We are so excited to be taking this next step and bringing everyone together to celebrate!