You're Invited!!

In 2021 Zach Cherry enrolled at Jessup University as an Visual and Fine Arts major. On his first night in the dorms, his roommate invited him to a game night with some friends. Having met few people already, he said yes. Little did he know that at this gathering, he would meet his future wife. "Hey, I'm Zach." "Hi! Nice to meet you." It was mutual indifference at first sight, but our story continues... Olivia had been at Jessup for a year and a half now, indulged in the theatre department, finding a new friend group, and gaining experience as an Assistant Stage Manager. She went to her friends' game nights to hang out, have fun and relax. In Zach and Olivia's times of quality conversation, she was somewhat fascinated in the way Zach spoke: his thoughts, feelings, and his love of the Lord. They began to grow closer, whether they knew it or not. One day, Olivia needed help with an assignment. She needed to write and flesh out a story idea for class the next day. After being unable to complete the assignment, she came to hang out with Zach and a group of friends, accepting the fate of her grade. However, nobody else ended up coming to the hang out, and after mentioning her plight, Zach agreed to help her finish the assignment while Westside Story played in the background. Zach stood on couches to demonstrate storylines, making Olivia laugh and feel hopeful about her now interesting story. After a successful day, the two went to Cold Stone to celebrate, laughing and talking for the rest of the night. It was this night that they truly noticed each other. A couple months went by and while they were both finding themselves in new lights from personal events, they began to grow closer, spending more and more time together. They grew quite fond of one another, but not quite saying it out loud. Until one day, they were talking about similar experiences, comforting one another, when all of a sudden, Zach kisses Olivia on the forehead. In his defense, Olivia is very pretty and he lost his senses. To both of their surprise, they froze, unable to speak. And after what seemed like hours, Olivia finally said, "I have to go to work". Once she changed into her uniform, Zach asked, "In the future, hypothetically, would you consider ever going out with me?" With a gentle nod and a smile, Olivia said "Yeah, I would". After, what seemed like the longest shift ever at work, Olivia couldn't stop thinking about Zach, while Zach waited anxiously at home in the dorms, thinking constantly about Olivia. That same night, they went to a friend's (Olivia's bridesmaid, Bianca) birthday party, feeling the unaddressed and somewhat awkward dynamic between one another. Later that same night, Olivia and Zach met back at her apartment to talk about where to go with their relationship. While they both had feelings for each other, neither wanted to make the first move in fear of potentially ruining their friendship. But after a reassuring conversation, and the promise that if it didn't work out they would remain friends, Olivia leaned over and kissed Zach. It was the most magical night! From then on, Zach and Olivia are learning more and more about one another, falling deeper in love. From Galleria mall trips to long distance conversations when Zach was in Massachusetts for an internship of a lifetime or when Olivia went to Nevada to help a friend shoot a short film, to late movie nights and even later rehearsal schedules at Jessup Theatre, their love has persevered, grown stronger, and culminates in marriage. They cannot wait to see what adventures God will lead them on as Husband and Wife.