On our honeymoon, Hailey and I watched the sunset from the tower of a restored Roman villa. For a few brief minutes, the air seemed to turn gold, and the fading light softened everything around us. Photographers call it the “golden hour.” We remember the warmth, the light, and the feeling of being completely present in that moment — and the beginning of something we would spend a decade building.

We translated that memory into three suites.

The North Star Suite

The North Star Suite brings together the idea of a grand voyage with the stillness of the shore. Its private garden was designed as a harbour, a quiet place to arrive at the end of a long journey and linger awhile.

The Under Hill Suite

The Under Hill Suite takes its cues from the landscape and the warmth of a cottage. We imagined it as a place to slow down — to step away from the pace of the modern world and settle into something quieter.

The Copper Crown Suite

The Copper Crown Suite is the most theatrical of the three. Inspired by royalty and fairy tales, the suite was designed to catch the light and let the changing sky become part of the room.

The Hazelnut Inn is the result of a decade spent turning one evening on our honeymoon into something we could build together.

We hope that when you stay here, you feel something of what we felt that evening: the warmth of the light, the stillness of the moment, and the sense that, for a little while, there is nowhere else you need to be.

I am watching the late afternoon sun filter through a crab apple tree. In front of me, a cluster of globe thistles catches the light, their fierce, spiky heads, an impossible purple-blue against the earthy greens of the tree.

To anyone else, these thistles are landscaping. But to me, they are a living promise. When I look at them — as I do nearly every day — the last twelve years vanish, and I am standing once again at the beginning.

Twelve years ago tomorrow, Hailey and I were married. Wanting our celebration to feel entirely like us, we had tucked tiny seeds into the soil of our first garden — watering them, watching them break through the dirt, and grinning like fools when they finally bloomed. They became my favourite wedding flower: a literal piece of the home we were building together, carried in her hands and tucked into my lapel.

When the time came to sell that house, leaving was bittersweet. We were moving on to a daunting dream: building the Hazelnut Inn from the ground up.

It was a massive undertaking — a chaotic season of blueprints and construction dust. But when we packed up our old life, we didn’t leave everything behind. We carefully uprooted our faithful thistle, and brought it with us.

Gardening, like marriage, requires a quiet kind of stubbornness. It’s about anchoring yourselves through shifting seasons and trusting that what you have nurtured in the dark will eventually reach for the light. As we declared twelve years ago:

“I love what I know about you and I trust what I do not yet know.”

Today, that same thistle is growing strong. Its roots have claimed new ground, just as Hailey and I have grown into this life we’ve built together — twelve years of shared mischief and of holding fast to each other through every unexpected turn.

Happy anniversary, Hailey. Twelve years later, our love — just like our thistle — is deeply rooted, wonderfully vibrant, and growing stronger every single day!

True romance pours a warm cup of tea and asks you to stay forever.

If your favourite person treasures quiet comforts — dog-eared paperbacks and mossy forest paths — then an intimate proposal might be the perfect grand adventure.

Welcome to your step-by-step guide to asking the biggest question of your life inside the cozy sanctuary of the Hazelnut Inn’s Under Hill Suite.

Step 1: Craft Your Story

In the lore of the Hazelnut Inn, the Under Hill Suite belongs to a certain Mr. Burrows, who is currently away on an adventure. Borrow a page from his book and let a custom journal tell your own fairytale:

• The Book: Find a pocket-sized, green leather notebook. Stain the pages with tea for a touch of whimsy.

• The Title: Write “There and Back Again: Our Story” on the very first page.

• The Content: Fill the pages with your intimate milestones, like your favourite quiet evenings or the rainy days you’ve shared.

• The Finale: On the final page, pen this riddle — or craft your own — across the tea-stained paper:

“Of solid gold, a treasure rare,
I speak of love, but have no air.
In shadow still, I wait a cue,
To hear a whispered word from you.
What am I?”

— anonymous

Step 2: Establish Your Sanctuary

A halfling proposal cannot be rushed. Once you step beneath the tree roots winding through the suite, steep two mugs of soothing tea to savour with your sweetheart.

Step 3: Present Your Riddle

Settle your partner by the hearth, directly beneath the suite’s twisting, ceiling roots. Hand them a blanket, a warm mug, and your handwritten notebook.

Sit close as they read your story and solve the riddle.

Step 4: Bend Your Knee

Once they solve the riddle, reveal your ring and ask your truest love to spend the rest of their days by your side.

In this moment, you have everything you need for a beautiful life together: a dedicated companion, a true story, and a quiet corner to call your own.

Your Proposal Checklist

• The Book: Craft your custom journal ahead of time.

• The One True Ring: Your engagement ring, safely tucked away until the final moment.

• Your Truest Love: The one whose small everyday deeds keep the darkness at bay.

Are you ready to begin your own unexpected journey?