We do, we did, we still do, let’s have a ceremony!

“I’m never going on a blind date again!”. I’m so glad I don’t stick to my loud proclamations. In October 2020, I didn’t see anyone in person, let alone complete strangers. I hadn’t been in a relationship and marked that right off my unofficial New Year’s goals once the pandemic hit in March. As a lady from my church told me, I wasn’t gonna find a guy by just sitting in my house, and that’s about all I did at this point. But one morning, I had a Facebook friend request from the son of a pastor I knew. That evening, he sent me a message saying he wasn’t trying to be a weirdo, just that my collection of memes had improved his day. Before I knew it we had scheduled a lunch date. I sat at the fountain in front of Freiburg’s so that I’d be super easy to find. I worked on a project via my phone to distract myself from how nervous I was. He showed up right on time, and we had a nice lunch where he sang along with the radio and impressed me by actually knowing some German as he ordered off the menu. Despite my nervousness, I hoped so much that he would agree to go on a second date. Almost 3 years later and wherever he is is where my anxiety dissappears.

I knew Andrew had been looking at engagement rings, and I expected him to propose near the end of my fellowship since I lived in Missouri for it. I was so excited to finally get to see him after 3 months away. One of the last days of my visit, he had planned us a movie date. He doesn’t care for movies much, but knows I love them, so it was a very sweet gesture. He picked me up for dinner, dressed in his usual sweat pants and hoodie, and I assumed we were going to grab Five Guys, as is our usual movie ritual. Instead we ended up downtown, at the lovely little Freiburgs. We hadn’t been since that lovely November day we met. We laughed and talked about our first date, and the many things we’d learned since. We left the restaurant hand in hand and headed back to the car. Except we didn’t go toward the parking lot, we were headed toward Founder’s park. I got excited but I wasn’t gonna say anything, just to try and keep a surprise atmosphere. Halfway through the park, he grabbed both my hands and told me how I’d made his life better. Then he let go of my hands, threw his sunglasses to the ground, and slid his sweat pants off. Boy, was I concerned. But he had on a pair of nice slacks. And he took off the hoodie and had a nice button up shirt. He looked so dazzling in his transformed wardrobe and I was giggling like crazy at the surprise. Then he dropped to his knees, popped out a gorgeous ring, and asked me if I’d do the honor of spending the rest of my life with him. I was nodding yes before he could even finish the question! It turns out the movie wasn’t a decoy, and I sat in the movie theater grinning next to my now-fiancé.

I needed to return to Tennessee, and who better to live with than Andrew. But I still wanted to be married if I was living with him. Fortunately, our officiant/Dad/Father in law was willing to hold a quick official ceremony right outside the courthouse. I don’t know anyone who has been married before the wedding, but I’ll be the trend setter. So far, loving it!