Thanks for being part of our little universe!

Andrey and April met at their church, Citylight Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC. They were first introduced while April was visiting her sister from Ohio. After grad school April moved to Charlotte to start her counseling career. As April began the next chapter of her life, she & Andrey began to develop a friendship.... They joined the same Citygroup & talked on Sundays before church. One day, Andrey invited April on a group outing to look at Christmas lights Uptown.... only everyone else canceled last minute. They had dinner together (April decided to pay for herself since it was not officially a date), then Andrey showed her around Uptown since that is where he works as a commercial electrician. The next night was another unofficial "date" watching the new Star Wars movie with their pastor and his wife. Eventually Andrey decided to ask April on a "real date." They decided on NYE since neither of them had to work the next day (and were feeling a bit impatient!). So their first date happened, then at midnight so did their first kiss! Yup, it was awkward, but they're both okay with that. ;) Later that month, January of 2016, Andrey officially asked April to be his girlfriend. She was as excited as a fat kid in a bakery! The next month, Super Bowl Weekend, Andrey got to meet April's father. April’s Dad had told her later that evening that Andrey seems serious about her, like he really cares. Unbeknownst to April at the time, that would be the only time her father & future husband would converse; April’s dad passed away the next weekend on Valentine’s Day. Andrey was there for April throughout one of the most painful times of her life. Having lost his own father at the age of ten, he understood the utter heartache his new girlfriend was going through. The two grew very close fairly quickly due in part to the mutual understanding & compassion. Very early in their relationship, Andrey told April that he loves her and that he could see them one day marrying...

Almost a year before actually proposing, Andrey told April, "Wouldn't the eclipse be a great day to propose? Then I'd actually remember the date!" Andrey did invite April to travel to Greenville, SC to see the eclipse in the path of totality. That morning, Andrey's best friend Matt took pictures of the two of them before leaving to go watch the eclipse with his own fiancee. Before and during the eclipse, April secretly wondered if Andrey would pop the question. In summary, he did not.... yet at least. After watching one of the most amazing natural events ever, the two decided to meet Matt for lunch. April wanted to go home right after this, because it had been a wonderful, yet exhausting day. Andrey and Matt, however, decided that it would be fun to stop at a nearby park before the couple departed for home... April reluctantly agreed. While walking around the park, Matt took pictures of some of the flowers, and of the couple. While the couple was taking silly photos, Andrey pulled out a ring! April couldn’t believe this was really happening! She of course said yes! :) The couple enjoys learning together. Andrey loves all things computer, electrical, and astronomy while April enjoys the social & biological sciences (especially neuroscience!). You may notice aspects of their nerdy, quirky personalities throughout the wedding events.... 🤓🤓