“We’re getting married!”

“When you know, you know.” We’ve all heard that saying, and it sounds pretty unbelievable. In early 2018, James and Beakal didn’t even believe it. But May 28th of that year changed everything. That was the day that a young woman from Washington DC met a man from Memphis, TN, and decided to go on their first date. Despite Beakal moving to Syracuse, NY to pursue her Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology and James finishing his MD at Ole Miss in Jackson, MS, the two realized that even 1200 miles couldn’t keep them apart. And on June 28, 2019, they decided to commit to each other. As a resident physician and a new speech-language pathologist, James and Beakal moved into their first apartment together and supported each other through countless nights of studying and note taking. But they always made time for fun: between movie nights, dinner dates, live feed church services, and impromptu Nerf gun battles in the living room, the two always kept laughter and prayer at the center of their relationship. Fast forward to Christmas Eve of 2021: in the town square of Collierville, TN, adorned with Christmas lights and trees, James knelt down in a beautiful gazebo and asked Beakal to be his wife. And of course, between happy tears, Beakal said yes. And thus began their journey to becoming the happily-married Mr. and Mrs. Wilson ❤️