...but the greatest of these is love.

We met through a small group at Amanda's home church Faith Bible and the rest is history.....well, almost. See, we met for the first time the night the group began but as always, life happens, and Amanda couldn't make it to the small group again for another month(!). Thankfully, our mutual friend led a different small group that Andrew was a part of and invited Amanda to a bonfire they were having on the beach. (Where I swept her off her feet! [Andrew] – Can confirm [Amanda]) We had the opportunity to do something fun, get to know each other a bit, and laugh a little. (Yeah, at me! [Amanda] - Well... it was funny! [Andrew]) Amanda had to leave early for a softball game and Andrew seized the opportunity to "slide into her DMs" the next day to see how the game went... facebook messages turned into texts turned into trying to make plans together outside of small group. Amanda suggested we meet for a walk on a beautiful Thursday afternoon which finally gave us that 1-on-1 time we were seeking. The walk was only intended to be walking the dog around the neighborhood but ended up being six miles and a few hours long and turned into going out for dinner as well. (Which is exactly why I call it our first date. ;) [Andrew]) (It wasn’t a date - it was eating together! [Amanda]) Annyywwaayy...we both did something right that night because our lives have forever changed! Ten days later we had an "official" first date at Amanda's favorite restaurant Island Hideaway and from that point on we started spending every day together that we possibly could. The more time we spent together the more obvious it became that we were both headed in the same direction of life, focusing on our individual relationships with Jesus, being committed to learning more about ourselves, to constantly grow and become more like Christ, and seeking how we could use our lives to serve God. So we’ve decided to continue on this journey together forever and with that... the rest is history.

Andrew recruited Amanda's family and planned the perfect proposal on the same beach where he swept her off her feet! Under the guise of taking pictures after her hair appointment but before the scheduled dinner at her parent's house just around the corner, he sneakily recruited her sister and her sister's boyfriend to take pictures and videos of the special moment. After popping the question and Amanda answering YES, we celebrated with family dinner and a cookie cake, which said "Amanda + Andrew 5ever"...because 5ever is longer than 4ever ;)

We will be holding a small wedding ceremony at 1pm on December 18. We have chosen to do a very intimate ceremony so as to remain focused on the reason for the occasion - which is to honor our love and commitment to each other and to God. We look forward to sharing the photos of our day with you!