#TheBeckerBeshert #BeckerLateThanNever

Like so many classic love stories, ours began on a drunken night out in Pretoria (Jayde being the drunk one - she was a nightmare back then). We had met in passing once or twice before but this was the night numbers were exchanged and our friendship started. As it goes with 18-year-olds, there was texting, a lot of texting. Over time, texting became voice messages, voice messages became calls, calls became drinks together and we continued to get closer – so much so – that I invited Jayde to my matric dance (photo below of my beautiful hairstyle if anyone needs inspo for the wedding). Post Matric Dance was Matric Vacation where it took me all of 28 tequila shots one night to get the courage to kiss her [Jayde’s Fact Check: I kissed him]. Between this pivotal moment and making it official (asking her to be my girlfriend) we had some interesting moments... - One such example was our first trip away together; I took us to a hiking spot (22km’s and you sleep in a tent), as you can imagine, Jayde was not impressed. - Another such example was Jayde’s now famous car accident in which SHE wrote off MY car the night before varsity began, as you can imagine, I was not impressed. Against all better judgement, we made it official and I asked Jayde to be my girlfriend on the 7th of February 2018. At the time of writing this, we’ve spent eight truly special years together. In that time, there has been so much – ups and downs, victories, challenges, people coming and going, degrees (failures, successes, repeats), jobs (good jobs, bad jobs, promotions and a sabbatical), living in different places (and at a stage, different continents) – there is almost too much to mention but we’ve quite literally grown up together. I can’t think of any greater blessing than having the privilege of facing life’s many, many challenges with her by my side. ALSO – it wouldn’t be our story without a special shoutout to our two beautiful children, Bonnie and Bruno, who have added so much happiness to our lives (we’ve since lost custody to ‘Grandpa Trev’ but that’s a story for another day). All of this (and Jayde’s non-stop nagging that I am taking too long) lead us to the Drakensberg in December of 2024 where I asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. Side Note - I proposed at an AfriCamps in the mountains, quite ironic considering our relationship almost didn’t survive the first camping trip in the mountains…(photo below from that special day). Since then, there has been lots of prep and planning leading up to the wedding (more Jayde than me - I am terrible at admin but yet very opinionated. Jayde has termed it "Groomzilla"). Each and everyone of you have played a special role in our lives (and our story) and we cannot wait to celebrate this milestone with you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for everything you’ve done for us and we are so excited to celebrate with you as we unite in marriage.