A Love Story That Never Ends

Just your typical BYU love story--we met at church! Jace was on the welcoming committee, and welcomed Josh to church his first Sunday. He promptly forgot her name, and she teased him about it. Then, he started coming to Foosball Sundays after church (despite never winning a game against Jace) and they became fast friends.

Jace was an hour and half late after running into laundry troubles, but it didn't faze Josh. Despite the late start, they both agreed this was the best first date ever. The activities were fun, but the best part was the company. They went to get churros at the Asian Market in Orem (who knew there was a churro bar there?), sat in the car to eat them, and tried each other's churros. When Josh tried a bite of Jace's nutella churro, she shoved it in his face. Then they went to Barnes and Noble and browsed the children's book section. There, they took turns reading our favorite children's books to one another. Jace read some Happy Pig Day (an Elephant and Piggy book to him), and they read a book about Pluto together, among others. Lastly, they went to get sushi because Jace had an unused Groupon. They shared four or five rolls and talked. Then, he took her home and they talked some more. It became a long date simply because they just enjoyed one another's company.

Josh and Jace visited her family in Florida for a mini family reunion with her parents and siblings. While there, Josh survived paddle board pool jousting, tubing in a lake with gators (JK, there weren't any gators in THIS lake...right?), and receiving Jace's father's, mother's, and siblings' blessings for their marriage (that last one took a 90 minute interview). On their last evening there, they went to see a sunset with Jace's family. When it started raining, she stepped underneath a tree to finish watching it. Josh joined her, Quaelii brought over an umbrella, then Josh pulled out a journal and read to Jace all of the key moments in their relationship, starting with becoming friends in July 2019 and ending with, "June 9, 2020: I asked Jaeci LaWren Whetten to marry me." Then, he pulled out Jace's grandmother's ring from a small cutout in the journal, got down on one knee in the mud and pouring rain, and asked her to marry him. She said yes! ❤ P.s. Thank you to the Whetten family for helping Josh pull off this surprise and getting drenched while taking pictures. #whettenfamilyphotocred

Due to COVID-19 and Jace's continuing recovery from major jaw surgery, Jace and Josh felt it unwise to hold a big celebration at the time of their wedding. Instead, they invited immediate family members and their grandparents or their stand-ins only. The night before, Josh and Jace's mom, Jen, stayed up late making her bouquet and other floral arrangements. In the morning, they got ready separately--Josh by himself, and Jace with the help of Natalie Linnell (makeup) and Emily Hanks (hair). They met in the mountains and trees above Big Springs Campground and took pictures with just each other before taking pictures with their few family members outside the Provo City Center Gates (since the Temple Grounds were closed at the time), courtesy of Morgan Powell Photography. Josh and Jace entered the Provo City Center Temple that afternoon. There, they knelt at an altar and exchanged vows with God and each other to love and care for one another for time and all eternity. After the ceremony, they met their family for a late lunch. Jace threw the bouquet into the low ceiling, and they rode off into the sunset to start their happily ever after.

We had a lovely Open House the eve of our First Anniversary. The marvelous Jasmyn Swindall planned a beautiful event with Sunflowers, great food, and churros in honor of our first date. Our family friends, Max and Laura Dahl, generously allowed us to use their backyard for our celebration. To those who attended: THANK YOU! It was amazing to have you there. To those who were unable to attend: We missed you; we hope we'll be able to get together soon whether here or there. In case you missed it, Jace still fits in her wedding dress! To all our friends and family: Thank you for your love and support. Don't be a stranger--we'd love to see you again, soon!