I (Kaitlyn) was born on March 23rd, 1998, in St. John's, NL. I am the firstborn, ahead of my younger sister, Julia and my mother's growing pack of lap dogs, Timmy, Missi, and Benny. My parents, Kris and Neil, had left Corner Brook after high school to study education at Memorial University, and so, I was raised by teachers in Conception Bay South - a long 30 minutes outside of St. John's - but we often spent summers and holidays on the West Coast of Newfoundland. My family and I share the fondest memories of sunny days at Margaret Bowater Park and Pasadena Beach, and of sleepovers on Stuart St.

Over the years, I've dabbled in various domains - music, sports, arts, leadership. As a young child, my favorite pastime was playing piano, followed by trombone and flute as part of the school orchestra. In junior high, I quickly shifted to volleyball, which enveloped most of my time for the following 6 years. In high school, I spent my off-court waking moments in the art room or on one of many leadership committees.

Since graduating high school in 2016, I've picked up sport climbing as my new favorite pastime, and have recently returned to volleyball recreationally. I've held on to my love for arts and leadership by working in non-profit events - I've executed folk, film, and music festivals, and conferences for food and arts sustainability, and have met the most wonderful network of artists and arts administrators whom I frequently encounter in my small corner of the world. I also have a BBA and a BA, but that's a longer story than we have time for.

Meanwhile, in 2019, at the age of 21, I picked up a serving position at Bannerman Brewing Co., and that is where our story truly begins.

The first time Marty and I met, it was opening day at Bannerman Brewing. We were stashing our personal belongings in the then-construction site, now-upstairs event space. He shook my hand - which I found odd - and I felt like the least graceful human on the planet. It didn't take long though, for my little crush to turn into a budding romance, and the rest is history.

I (Martin) was born on May 7th, 1995, and shortly followed by my three siblings - Margaret (Maggie), Marcella (Marcy), and Matthew (Matty), (and we may as well mention the family dogs Molly and Millie). Our Whelans (4 of the 19 first cousins) are easy to spot in a crowd, as most of us sit above the average going height, are sporting the complete ginger package (hair and freckles), and are likely bantering above the easy-listening decibel. My parents, Kathryn & James, raised us in the city center of St. John's, Newfoundland, which we consider home despite some short stints along the way in Toronto and New Jersey.

Growing up, sports were my passion. I competed in swimming, hockey, soccer, cross-country running, and tennis, to name a few. In 2013, I attended McMaster University to compete with the varsity swimming team, where I took less to my studies in favor of enjoying time with my team, making new friends, and navigating a different walk of life away from home.

My other blooming passion at the time was science and technology. While at McMaster, I studied Materials Engineering, and after returning home in 2017, I transferred to Memorial's Computer Science program. In 2020, I graduated from Memorial University and began my career as a software developer at Verafin.

Just before that, in 2019 at the age of 24, I too picked up a position at Bannerman Brewing Company.

During orientation and as we worked into the first week, my then coworker, Kaitlyn, caught my eye as someone who matched my energy. I was immediately drawn to how outgoing she was, easy to talk to, work with, and share a laugh with. I could tell she had an honest spirit, and as the early weeks went by at the brewery, we found ourselves often sharing a drink after a shift and getting to know each other. We connected and it was easy to spend time together.

The days carried on at Bannerman, and so did our partnership. We worked and enjoyed our summer together - attending the Regatta, staff parties downtown, dancing on George Street, picnics in Bannerman Park, swimming at Hogan's Pond, and hikes on the East Coast Trail. We did it all, and it happened very naturally.

Days turned to months, and months to years, and Kaitlyn and I continue to move through time together, as a partnership. We have celebrated many milestones in our young adult lives by each other's sides, including moving out of our family homes, enduring COVID (if you want to call that a milestone), and moving in together into our beloved little apartment on Prescott Street.

This upcoming year will mark our 6th year of choosing each other. We are so excited to share this next milestone with you, at the place where it all began. So please, save our date.