Claire and Hunter’s story begins in the same way all great romances begin - a dating app. Not just any dating app, but the pinnacle of all dating apps: Tinder.

It was late April and the year was 2019. For both Claire and Hunter, graduation was near and four years at the University of Oregon were slowly and sweetly coming to an end. Something about the warm spring air, blooming rhododendrons, and just-out-of-reach freedom made the two of them decide to create profiles on the dating app, and almost immediately, they matched. Claire’s bio was simply: “Let’s start a folk duo.” Hunter’s bio was a multi-paragraph explanation of his various interests and personality traits as a “pretty easygoing guy.” Hunter messaged Claire with some ideas for what their go-to folk duo songs would be (songs by Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell were the standouts), and then they messaged each other almost obsessively for a week straight.

When Hunter asked Claire out on a date, Claire suggested that they meet at Vero Espresso, a quaint coffee house in Eugene. Hunter proposed that they meet at 10 am, which was admittedly too early for both of them, but Hunter “wanted to seem like someone who gets up early for coffee.” They met up on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at 10:30 am (this was the compromise Claire proposed), and their connection was instantly felt. Claire ordered a vanilla latte and Hunter ordered a mocha. Hunter gulped down his mocha in 5 minutes. They sat on the patio and talked and talked and talked until it was 2 pm and Claire had a rehearsal to attend. They had been sitting in the sun for so long that they both left with sunburns.

2 years of long distance, a global pandemic, a cross-country move to Portland, 1 apartment, 2 houses, 2 cats, and 5 years of dating later, and Claire and Hunter still talk and talk and talk for hours at a time with plenty of laughter mixed in for good measure. On Saturday, January 11, 2025, Hunter planned a day filled with all of their favorite things (farmers markets, a Portland hike, iced matcha, homemade pasta, and fresh pastries) and finished the day on one knee asking Claire to spend the rest of her life with him. He created a custom vinyl record with Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and a voice recording of him professing his lifelong love for Claire. Of course, Claire said yes. Their folk duo plans became a reality in a way that far exceeded either of their wildest dreams (and yes, Elsie and Filip do sing backup).