His: I met Emily at the BPC church retreat and was immediately impressed by how easy it was to talk to her and the depth of our conversation. But seeing as though I was at the retreat not to find love, but to get more plugged in at church, I promptly swept the thought of a future together under the rug. Concurrent meetings at church with Emily would make that thought difficult to deny, as we swiftly formed a friendship and I realized that Emmy was “The Real Deal.” It soon became my Sunday ritual to seek her out after the service so we could catch up. After dragging my heels for far longer than I care to admit, I finally worked up the courage to ask Emily on a date. We got Andy’s frozen custard and it was by far the best “date” I’ve ever been on. We would then go on to not date for 3 months due to my aforementioned heel dragging. Whoops. Thankfully we picked right back up where we left off last November and the rest is history. In dating, I learned that Emily is admirably faithful, fiercely loyal, remarkably chic, and an incredible mother to her cat, Shasta. I’ve loved getting to know this beautiful (and surprisingly silly) girl, and am so thankful that the Lord placed us in one another’s lives. Hers: Ben and I met at a BPC church retreat – he was the new guy, and at the time, he was “Walker’s girlfriend’s brother” (Walker is my friend who wisely married Ben’s sister, Elisa). Ben was bouncing around camp with his long hair and giant water jug, making friends with everyone he passed. I was intrigued by this charming guy, BUT…he was very outgoing and 4 years younger than me. Weeks passed and Ben would find a way over to me after each church service (my friends would whisper “Here comes Ben Hoover” LOL). One day, we were chatting about a specific topic, and he asked me to ice cream to further discuss. The word “date” was not mentioned, and I didn’t assume anymore after years of trial-and-error dating, so off we went to ice cream as friends. Ben later said it was definitely a date, and either way, we talked and laughed for hours. Timing was not in our favor then, as I decided to go in another direction with someone else (oops). Months went by, and as soon as his window of opportunity opened, Ben asked me out on a proper date, and here we are. Over time, the Lord revealed that Ben was His greatest gift to me. Ben is unendingly patient, a gentle leader and the MOST fun partner. Grateful doesn’t begin to cover how I feel getting to spend my life with him!