I first met Gwen at our church small group. A couple months after I joined the group, we were doing a secret Santa Christmas party in December of 2023 and my name was paired up with hers. As I was picking out a gift for her, I started to think, “Hmm she’s cute. I’m glad I got her name.” I slowly started talking to her more and more in January, February, and March of 2024. We were both super busy and hadn’t fully caught the other’s attention yet. Then, one Friday night, she came to my house for a worship night, and all of a sudden, I was chatting it up with her while we were doing dishes. I had known for a while that she was a passionate follower of Jesus, but talking to her that night revealed how fun she was to talk to. Doing dishes together really brought out a flirtatious side of me I didn’t know that I had. We were cracking jokes and reminiscing of college days, and we both quickly discovered that we shared a quirky sense of humor. I also happened to notice that she was incredibly beautiful. I had been trying to hang out with her in group settings for a couple weeks, but I think that Friday night made me really want to pick up the pace. We finally found a Sunday to play pickleball with a group of friends. Typically, the guy makes the first move, but she offered to pick me up from my house for pickleball!! This made me excited and a little nervous, and I began to wonder if I should approach this day of pickleball as a friends hangout or if I should turn up the heat. As we were driving to the courts, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her cute smile in her sunglasses on that sunny ride. And the same was true during pickleball, we kept laughing and smiling and poking fun at each other (I think we lost really bad in all our games). I was having such a good time with her, and I did not want it to end. As she was driving me back to my house, I suddenly caught a stroke of genius. I was going to ask her to get dinner that night. So I did, and she said yes, and we showed up to a café I thought would be a good fit….and it was closed. I had to pivot, and I went by proximity. Raising Canes was down the street at Union Station in Washington D.C. We had acquired reliable chicken and sauce, but the setting wasn’t right. God bailed me out and put on a beautiful sunset that night, so we took our chicken and sat next to the Capitol looking out towards the mall and all that is famous in D.C. I was quickly falling in love as we just took in the sunset and talked for nearly two hours straight. Yes, I’m sure she has a funny story about me holding her hand as we walked, but you can ask her about that. I quickly knew being with her was the right thing. I had this strong desire to be around her all the time and take care of her. I began to tell her the deepest parts of my life, and she listened to me so intently like no one else had before. I saw just how much passion and love she had for everyone in her life – roommates, coworkers, random people on the street, etc. Just being around Gwen is so life-giving for so many people. Pretty quickly my family, friends, and coworkers would not stop talking about how much they loved Gwen, and they told me not to screw this up. I knew I had to keep her. I love you so much Gwen! Let’s get married!!

Cal and I met in November of 2023 at our small group through church (shout out to King's & Penner/Seymour!). At first he was just the new guy to me, but I could tell he was very thoughtful and he even had me for our group's Secret Santa that Christmas. In early 2024, I kept hearing about a worship night at his house on Friday nights, so I decided to check it out. Friday nights spent on Third Street instantaneously became the best part of my week. The songs of praise, prayer, reflections from the Bible, and fellowship are just the best. In the back of my mind, I couldn't shake how unique it was to see two guys in their twenties open their home on a Friday night for strangers to share a meal and glorify Jesus. One Friday night, I jumped in to help Cal with dishes. We ended up talking and doing the dishes for over an hour, though there was far less than an hour's worth of dishes. After our first conversation, I was hooked. The pattern of Friday night kitchen conversations over dishes continued. Those nights were my first glimpse into the man that Cal is. I was immediately impressed by his deep devotion to Jesus, his love for his family, his desire to grow in strength and wisdom, and his ability to make every moment something to laugh about. I called my best friend & Maid of Honor the week before our first date and told her that I thought I had met the man I was going to marry. On January 30th of this year, the day of my Grandparents' wedding anniversary and at Cal's Grandparents' church, Cal asked me to marry him. I have never said "yes" to a question faster or more emphatically. Every single day with Cal has been far more abundant than all I could have ever asked or imagined. Cal has pursued me, challenged me to be more of who I want to be, prayed for me, and loved and cared for me beyond comprehension. Cal very quickly invited me into his incredible family who I adore, and seeing my family and dearest friends come to know and love him has been a profound blessing. Above all, Cal has pushed me to know Jesus more and reminded me of the greatest love of all - Christ's love for His Church. It is the deepest honor and joy of my life to know our Creator better because of Cal James Anderson. I cannot wait to spend all of my days loving and knowing Cal and making Jesus known with him. Our story is truly just beginning and I am so excited to celebrate with all of you as we enter into marriage.