We’ve been talking about marriage since day one. With all of life’s twists and turns we quickly found that the wedding we wanted with all of our humans wasn’t feasible for another year, not if we wanted to have everyone we loved there. We are facing a full year of work and ministry opportunities, the opportunity to buy a house, conflicting schedules and more details to sort out. As we inched the date further and further back we decided to do things a little different. We realized we wanted to walk through this next year together, married, not just engaged. The idea of a small, intimate ceremony where we said our vows, followed by a larger celebration always felt right. So after much thought, prayer, and advice, we decided to split our wedding into two parts: we had a small ceremony on May 24, 2024 with us, our pastor, and two humans to be our witnesses and to help capture this moment. And then next year we will have the large colorful celebration here in Indianapolis. So that brings us to this moment. We got married on May 24th, 2024! We also wanted to share this moment with everyone now, our first year together as a married couple, as well as plans for our celebration in 2025. We’ll post photos and updates here. We did not live stream our park ceremony but posted video and photos. We have been planning this for some time and are so excited to finally share this news with those we love. If you are reading this, you are among those we love, our favorite people in this world and we would love to share that step in our journey with you.

How did we get here? We met years ago when Courtney wandered into the Indy Vineyard Arts Community and sat at the same table Tim was working at. Over the next few years we passed each other with a “hi!” on Sunday mornings, became friends on Facebook and occasionally shared a meal with mutual friends. These casual life intersections became more and more frequent until we realized how much we had in common and started spending more time together as friends. Life continued to converge our paths. We became neighbors and before long our evenings were almost always spent together. It soon became apparent that we were more than friends. From the beginning of our dating relationship we knew it was pointing toward marriage. Life’s twists and turns delayed the things we felt needed to happen before walking down the aisle. Once we had met each other’s families, Tim proposed and we started the actual process of planning a wedding.

Tim’s Vows I often joke about proverbs thirty one, demanding that you buy me a field or praise me at the city gates. But within those verses that have cultural references we may not understand, are words that every bit describe my Courtney. You speak up for those who have no voice, you walk in strength and dignity, you work hard and you often know what I need well before I do. You may not praise me at the city gates but you see in me what I cannot see in myself, and your ability to see that and tell me what you see has changed my life. You are the most authentic person I know and we have our fair share of laughter even in the midst of incredible pain and struggle. You are a gift, precious and priceless. So I vow to, sometimes recklessly, charge into the unknown with you, to never lose our sense of adventure and wonder. I vow to remind you how love-able you are whenever you forget. I vow to not let us do this alone, asking our humans to surround us when we need advice or even just a cup of coffee. I vow to make sure you eat real meals and have access to appropriate first aid that doesn’t involve duct tape. I want you to live! I vow to make you laugh as much as I can, even if that means tickling you, because I want you to always feel joy. I vow to take special note of the person you are when you are half asleep, babbling and smiling for I think that person with her child like happiness is a reflection of your truest self. Our journey will not always be easy and we have walked hard roads getting to this moment. And it’s on those hard roads that I’m reminded why you’re my person, and why I want to keep walking down this road with you. So most of all I vow to love you as much as I am able and more, and to keep walking, with you.

When I  look at you I know  who is going to hold my   hand as we walk out this earthly  adventure. I see an amazing human I  so excited to build a life with  and really  just how okay you are with me operating all the power tools to do so.   When look at you I see my person. I see a soul  I am so in love with. I see colors I didn’t know existed or that I was allowed to embrace until us.  I  see freedom to be truly authentic. I see best intentions and all the big and little ways I get to love you and be loved by you. When I look at you I see safety in ways the list in my head never covered. I don’t need to know where every exit is in the room is anymore   just where you are. The  saying “you are a strong confident woman of the new millennium and  I would like you you live” is seen as  being supportive not a challenge. I see bandaids instead of duct tape, I see sufficient meals instead of coffee and and an  apple. I see the fact that I might not ever remember to lock my back door but in the morning it always is.  When I look at you I see beauty in life’s mundane and in its the chaos… chaos  that  I probably started. I see all the ways you love me in said  chaos and also in the fact that you embrace it.  In the way you know that I’m referencing some mystical creature of death as “puppy”, that Steve or other random s name creature is probably some type of feral animal that is being fed from our porch nightly. I love so much that for you, me  being weird Barbie for Halloween wasn’t a stretch and of course you would go as Allen.  When I look at you I see an equally playful soul that also gives the world a run for its money and the combined reason why we have to start most serious conversations with our friend and family with “so we’re not actually joking…this time”. I love the  way your eyes light up followed by  the  deep laughter over shared darker side of humor.  When I look at you I see the most adorable power couple holding space with  all the nerd people, places and things. I  love watching you deep dive into your glimmers and that I get to be a part of them. I love that you hold space in alll my messy creations and are still willing to say I Do despite that fact that all your nice silverware live in my car. I love  the fact that I will remind you often of our vows in the future in moment like that. I really do love all the ways we will make routines and sporadicness coexist. When I look at you I  see all the ways I never saw this coming and how appreciate of  the fact that you are the biggest plot twist. I  am so excited  for all the  countless  sunrises and sunsets in our future together.  When I look at you I see the person I am so excited to be married to with paper rings.  So to my person, know that when  I look at you I know I am loved deeply,  that I  am indeed God’s gift to you but above all else I AM HOME.  

A Homily stolen from David (Ps 139) ❑ Tim & Courtney, God knows everything there is to know about you. ❑ He perceives every movement of your hearts and souls, and understands your every thought before it even enters your mind. ❑ God is so intimately aware of you. ❑ He reads your hearts like an open book and knows all the words you’re about to speak before you even start a sentence! ❑ God knows every step you will take before your journey (yes - this marriage journey!) even begins. ❑ He has gone into your future to prepare the way, and in kindness follows behind you to spare you from the harm of my pasts. ❑ He has laid his hand on you both! ❑ And you know what? This is just too wonderful, deep and incomprehensible! May God’s understanding of you bring you wonder and strength. ❑ Think of it: o Where could you go from God’s Spirit? o Where could you run and hide from his face? ❑ Wherever you go, God is there waiting for you. His hand will guide you; his strength will empower you. ❑ It’s impossible to disappear from God or ask the darkness to hide you, for his presence is everywhere, bringing light into your night. ❑ With God, there is no such thing as darkness. The night, to him, is as bright as the day; no difference between the two. ❑ God formed your innermost beings, shaping your delicate inside and your intricate outside, and wove them all together in your mothers wombs. ❑ Praise God - He has made you so mysteriously complex! And everything God does (including making and now joining you ) is marvelously breathtaking. ❑ It simply amazes me to think about how thoroughly the Lord knows you. He even formed every bone in your bodes when He created you in the secret place; carefully, skillfully shaping you from nothing to something. He saw who He created you to be before either of you became you! ❑ Before either of you saw the light of day, the number of days He planned for you were already recorded in his book. ❑ Every single moment God, the Eternal One, is thinking of you! How precious - how wonderful to consider that God cherishes you constantly in his every thought! His desires toward you are more than the grains of sand on every shore! ❑ When you awake each morning together from this day forward, God will be with you. ❑ As you marry, will you invite God’s loving, searching gaze into your hearts - to Examine you through and through; to find everything that may be hidden, to test and sift through all your anxious cares, to see if there is any path of pain you’re walking on? ❑ And may God ever lead you back to his glorious, everlasting way— the path that brings you continually back to Him.” God, give Tim and Courtney grace, joy-filled faith and strength to live out this declaration of truth. AMEN.