Katie and Brian Andersen hold artwork created at a Festival of Trees booth last year. The couple has attended the November festival every year since becoming engaged to be married there in 2020.

Dakota Hope Clinic’s annual Christmas Festival of Trees is more than just a festive holiday event for one Velva couple.

The 2020 festival’s photo booth was where Brian Andersen proposed to Katie Folden. The Andersens return every year, as they did this past weekend, to celebrate the occasion with another photo at the photo booth and to enjoy the festival activities.

The Andersens met when Katie’s best friend, who was Brian’s neighbor, suggested they get to know each other. They dated about a year before Brian Andersen popped the question on Nov. 21, 2020, surprising Katie and her family members who were present. Andersen said he had asked previously for the blessing of her father, who snapped the engagement photo, but the timing was a surprise. The day happened to be Brian Andersen’s mother’s birthday, and it was made extra special by Katie’s response that day.

“She said ‘yes,’ and it’s worked out very well,” Andersen said. They married on June 18, 2021, and now have a 1 year old son as well as Andersen’s 11 year old daughter.

Brian Andersen said he can’t recall having attended the Festival of Trees before 2020, but he now comes every year. Katie’s mother is a former board member at Dakota Hope and the family has a bond with the clinic that provides pregnancy and parenting help.

“They’re such a good organization. It definitely helps out a lot of people in this area,” Brian Andersen said. He said clinic clients facing unplanned pregnancies often can feel isolated, without people they can openly talk with.

“Dakota Hope is there just to offer hope – that it’s going to be OK, that you’re going to be good parents, that there is a community that will love you and love your kids,” he said.