Long Distance Love Affair

Two strangers from opposite sides of the country meet in a bar and assume they'll never see each other again. But their story didn't end there....This was not the classical long distance love affair turned into a fairy tale wedding. Many twists and turns and trials had to be overcome to make it happen.

Doug and Kat met 6 years ago in a crowded small town bar in Kat's hometown nestled in the most southern parts of Oregon. Little did she know her life was about to change forever. Doug was from New York state working across the country. The two met and exchanged their contact information, thinking that this happenchance meeting would be no more than that one night. Neither expected this would turn into a true love.

Doug returned to the East Coast. After a month of non stop phone calls and texts, he came back to Oregon to finish the job. Doug and Kat were able to meet nearly every day while he worked in Oregon, and spent tons of time getting to know each other. After a about two months of dates, Doug was introduced to Kat's daughter, Emmy. They immediately became the best of friends. Long distance dating began, as Doug followed his work all across country, once more leaving Oregon.

In the fall of 2012, Doug was hurt in a terrible work accident. It was in that moment that Kat knew she couldn’t imagine life without him. He spent two years trying to physically and mentally get himself back to "normal". During this time he moved to Oregon to help Kat raise Emmy. Living together came with its own set of struggles, but they managed to live and learn through each of them. Just when they thought Doug was back to his healthy self, they received life changing news.

After numerous tests, Doug was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Doug, always being strong, held his head high. He was not going to let this hold him back. He pushed himself at the gym and never gave up. In the fall of 2014, Doug and Kat made the decision to move their family across the country to New York. Kat had never lived anywhere except her own hometown, and was terrified. Knowing Doug would be by her side, she knew everything would be okay, and took the leap of faith to trust in him and make the move…

That Christmas Eve, in front of a giant Christmas Tree downtown, Doug finally proposed!! Wedding plans ensued.

Kat VanDenburgh continues this story with the following:

"After months and months of searching, I stumbled upon Wolf Oak Acres website and was “IN LOVE”!!! Being from Oregon I dreamed of having an outdoor wedding in the forest full of trees and flowers. The New York weather was never going to let that happen. Wolf Oak gave me the best of both worlds. A gorgeous landscape for our ceremony, and the most breathtaking venue for our reception. It took one look of the grounds and we were booked. 7.22.16. That was the day!! The day I would become Mrs. Kathleen VanDenburgh."

Kat goes on to say... "Our wedding was amazing!! I couldn’t have asked for a better day. The planning and time spent paid off in such a way that I will be forever grateful. I couldn’t have done it without the help of some amazing vendors. (vendors all listed below picture gallery.) The most dear of my dream team of vendors was my step mom Christie. She took it upon herself to be my florist. She flew from Oregon to Cleveland, picked all of the flowers from a wholesale market, then met my dad who drove cross country in a motorhome, and together with an rv full of flowers, they made the rest of the trip to NY. It was a crazy ride I'm sure. She then assembled all of the flowers in my garage and spent hours making sure everything was PERFECT. Let's just say... the photos don’t lie. "