When we think of love stories, our minds typically go to the classics like Pride and Prejudice, Beauty and the Beast, The Notebook…you catch the drift. While John and Alyssa most definitely have personality qualities similar to Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, their love story (or at least the beginning of it) more closely parallels April and Andy’s love story in Parks and Rec: genuine, quirky, spontaneous, nurturing, and most importantly elevating. The beginning…here is where the comedy of errors comes into play…John first became aware of Alyssa (anyone who knows John can tell you that he isn’t always aware of his surroundings) at a Bible study at the Mission. (Shoutout Lissa!) John came late one day (shocker) and ended up sitting at Alyssa’s table. He almost immediately noticed a cute girl sitting at the table with him and proceeded to introduce himself AND was essentially shut down! (Alyssa was all business at Bible study). As the weeks went on John would continue to move nearer and nearer to Alyssa (whenever she would come) but couldn’t seem to part the Red Sea…LOL. A few months later John (who was President of Young Catholic Professionals) planned a day trip for his team to Orange County to attend Mass and a hike. As fate would have it, Alyssa (who was not on the team) was invited by a friend to come along and just so happened to end up in John’s car. As the hours passed sitting in traffic, John slowly began to notice the beauty and allure of the woman who he would eventually come to call his Wife. Hang on a second! We might be getting a little ahead of ourselves here… After the trip, John couldn’t put his finger on it but there was something about this girl that he just could not get out of his head. There was just one problem, Bible study was not in session and even though Alyssa came to nearly every YCP event, John never seemed to have time to talk to her! It seemed John would finally get to know Alyssa as she was registered to attend the yearly YCP Conference in Dallas, TX. However, his dreams collapsed when Alyssa quite literally collapsed a week before the event. (OH NO!) Upon hearing about her fall, John just couldn’t help but feel that maybe it just wasn’t meant to be… Oh contraire my friend! You see John was used to overthinking dating at the time; things had to always go according to plan and if they didn’t it just wasn’t the right thing. John couldn’t help but vent about his frustration to some of his friends when he was given the advice that would come to change his life forever… “You know, sometimes if you want something in life, you just have to take it!” John took this advice to heart and immediately found an opportunity to text Alyssa and eventually asked her to go for a walk at the beach with him. Alyssa happily accepted, but asked John if he could wait three weeks because she was on the East Coast for summer vacation. Then after almost six months of overthinking, pondering, and missed connections, the date FINALLY happened and left a deep impression on both of them. Not too long after this, John and Alyssa was just like peas and carrots, nothing could separate them. John and Alyssa very quickly bonded over their mutual love of time spent with Jesus in Adoration (and all things faith-related), pickle ball, reading, working out, outdoor adventures, and movies. John just couldn’t help but feel a draw to never be without this girl that fell (LOL) straight into his lap. John and Alyssa continue to talk to this day about how imperfectly perfect God’s plan for them was and is. If it weren’t for little things, like nudges from friends and even bigger ones from the concrete, neither John nor Alyssa would have been able to freely choose to love one another. To our family and friends: Thank you so much for being a part of our journey. We cannot wait to share in this wondrous day with you as we prepare to be joined together as one in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. God Bless and see you soon!