We're so excited to share with you how God has worked in our relationship over the past three years to bring us together in marriage!

"It took two years of knowing Natalie and a pandemic before we even started talking to each other. I didn't want to be single then, but something greater was in store for me than anything I could've found on my own. It turns out the person for me was there already, and the circumstances to bring us together were entirely outside my control. It took one year of social-distanced friendship before I got the guts to ask Natalie out--she said no, but said no prayerfully, and her prayerfulness encouraged my own. God was telling me something important then: to wait on him, to let him be in control and not myself. It didn't matter how much I planned or what guts I mustered to make a move. What mattered was whether I really trusted that his will for me is good, with or without Natalie. It took three more months for me to accept that peace, before the Lord graciously and miraculously gave Natalie the hots for me and we began dating. The start of our relationship was a true exercise of my surrender to God, of waiting on his timing and trusting in his goodness. In the three years since then he has continued to grow me through Natalie in more ways than I ever could've imagined. She uniquely inspires me to compassion, obedience, thankfulness, and prayerfulness, and amazingly it all points to him, not to either of us. I really hope that this wedding (and marriage to come!) will speak to you about God's radical love--his goodness, his power, and the grace he gives to us through Jesus even in our deficiencies and imperfection."

"I struggled with singleness for a really, really long time. I was always dreaming of being in a relationship, or my happiness or sadness fluctuated depending on how I was feeling about it that day. Definitely neither was healthy. God slowly helped me focus on my relationship with him. I decided to not initiate anything dating related (i.e. apps), because I knew how easy it was for me to take matters into my own hands or become too focused on it again. I told my friends that my husband would just have to fall into my house. When COVID happened, only a small number of people went to church in person, and I became friends with Gary. One day, he asked me out, but I did not like him!! After spending time praying, I decided to not go on dates just because someone asked, knowing how easily my thoughts would get obsessed about singleness/dating again. I asked God that if Gary was the one, that he would change my heart and feelings about him, and that if he wasn't, I'd just keep focusing on God and wait. Months later, you can guess what happened. In retrospect, I was extremely self focused, but God was so patient and gracious with me. Gary wasn't my type initially, but how we complement each other and how he cares for me is so much more than how I used to picture my ideal relationship. God has really taught me that he loves us so much that he doesn't just give us what we think we want. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and not only gives us what we truly need, but even more. This wedding is a testimony and thanks to how generous and faithful God has been, even when I was not."