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KATEY & MITCHELL
Katey, 30, and Mitchell, 29, Wagner
first met when she was 11 and he was
10. They attended Camp Tamarack,
where they shared a four-week camp
romance and their first kiss. They
lived quite a distance apart though,
forcing their young romance to end
with the summer.
In October 2008, Katey friended
Mitch on Facebook and asked him if
he remembered her. He did, and they
decided to meet for a drink.
"I didn't know it was a date; he
came alone and I showed up with 10
of my friends," Katey explains.
The two didn't talk again until April
2009 when he contacted her to ask
her on an official date. She said "yes."
They moved in together five
months later.
Shortly thereafter, Mitch noncha-
lantly showed Katey his grandmoth-
er's ring that was missing the dia-
mond. Katey knew then that Mitch
was up to something, but she wasn't
sure what.
"At first, I kept thinking any day he
would propose, but it wasn't until 1i
years later that he made his move,"
she says.
Mitch got the call from Heartwear
Designs letting him know that the
ring they designed using his grand-
mother's diamond was ready.
"I got extremely nervous and
picked it up right away;' Mitch says.
He went to see Katey's parents,
brother and grandparents to get their
approval. He then called her bubbie
in Florida to get the final approval.
"I couldn't hold onto the ring for
long; I was too anxious!" Mitch
recalls.
He arrived home and snuck a letter
into the mailbox addressed to "Katey
Wagner." He then asked Katey to get
the mail.
Because Katey just returned home
from the gym she assumed it was a
cute love letter, but inside the card
it read, "Katey, you were my first
kiss. Will you be my last? I love you.
Mitchell."
She still didn't realize what he was
up to until she turned around and
saw Mitch on one knee.
The couple was married 16 months
later. They live in Berkley with their
12-week-old daughter, Aviva June.
Katey and Mitch shared their first
kiss as children.
4
Jeff and Honey Solomon combined
their families.
HONEY & JEFF
Laura "Honey" Solomon, 50, was
divorced with seven kids. The idea of
meeting Mr. Right and having him
be excited about meeting a woman
with seven kids felt like an unrealistic
dream.
44 February 2013 I RtD THREAD
In fact, while dropping her son
off at daycare one morning, she was
talking with one of the caregivers
when "a handsome man in a beauti-
ful car" pulled into the lot. She said to
the caregiver, "A guy like that would
never be interested in dating me with
my seven kids."
She lived barrack-style, or, as she
likes to call it, "organized mayhem.
"With seven kids, four dogs and two
cats, it's the only way:' she says.
A year went by and Jeff Solomon,
the handsome man in the beautiful
car, 47, saw Honey on JDate. He was
reluctant to date online at first, so a
friend posted his profile for him.
Honey, on the other hand, was
dating somebody she knew she would
never marry. "He suggested that I try
JDate," she says.
Honey and Jeff met and fell in love
— a year after Honey first saw him
out that window.
"As it turns out, Jeff was in the
military and was very comfortable
living barrack style:' she notes.
It became clear that the two would
eventually be married, but they didn't
have any plans as far as Honey knew.
"Jeff asked me to go to a Christmas
party with some old friends of his.
I'm not at all comfortable in social
settings where I don't know anybody.
I complained nonstop but reluctantly
agreed to go:' she says.
To make matters worse, a girl at
the party tasted the crab dish Honey
brought while asking her what it was.
It turns out she was allergic to crab
and the girl started choking, requir-
ing an EpiPen to save her.
Honey thought to herself, "This
night couldn't possibly get any worse."
That was until a particularly
lengthy Christmas speech began.
Honey couldn't get out of there soon
enough.
Before she knew it though, the gen-
tleman who was speaking said Jeff
had something to say. Knowing how
shy Jeff was, she was shocked.
Jeff got down on one knee and
proposed to Honey.
Her first thought was "What are
you doing?" but she said "yes."
"Anything's possible," Honey says.
"We are coming up on our 11-year an-
niversary. Things happen exactly how
they are supposed to."
They live in West Bloomfield and
share nine kids between them: Brad,
14, Tony, 15, Alex, 16, Jordan, 16,
Jake, 18, Lindsay, 18, Sam, 19, Dan,
24, and Zack, 25.
'Tis the season. What will your love
story be? RT
Katey and Mitch Wagner reunited after an initial attraction as kids.
www.redthreadmagazine.com