Our Story

Question

Part 1

Answer

Yup. You read that right. We met on Hinge. For the uninitiated, that's a dating app. *gasp* *clutching of pearls* John had spent most of his adult life railing against online dating (and online everything). Emma had reluctantly dipped her toes into the world of dating apps once or twice and beaten a hasty retreat on each of those occasions. To say that neither of us saw this coming is a gross understatement, and yet... Contrary to all bets, on September 9th, 2023, John begrudgingly downloaded Hinge (after relentless needling from his best friend, Braden Anderton - peep the best man). He spent ten minutes using the app, got overwhelmed by the complexity of technology, and tossed away his phone... but not before noticing a lovely brunette with short hair and blue eyes, self-styled "Emmie". He took a screenshot of her profile, texted it to Braden along with a short message ("Fingers crossed?"), and went to write a blog about how lame dating apps are (kidding... sort of). A mere three days later, on September 12th, Emma saw John's killer opening line and decided that it was well-worth replying to (despite the fact that he was at the very top of the 'age range' that she had set for the app... he seemed pretty cool for an old guy😉). The conversation began rolling immediately and quickly picked up considerable speed. Soon, we were sending what we began affectionately calling 'volleys' - collections of voice memos (and later on, text messages, too), one after another, sometimes totaling up to 25 or 30 minutes. This will surprise no one who knows us well... neither of us is known for our brevity. We soon realized it might make more sense to cut out the middle man and talk in real time. That first phone call lasted over two hours, and it was merely a glimpse of what was to come...

Question

Part 2

Answer

Clearly we were fast falling in smitten. An obstacle presented itself, though: Emma was about to leave on a trip to Europe... for a month. 'Tis but a bump in the road, right? We figured we'd keep chatting and see what happened. And what happened was this: John found himself up at all hours, spending nearly every waking moment responding to Emma's voice message volleys and texting with her in real-time. Emma found herself, a dedicated sleep enthusiast, tossing and turning, constantly checking to see if she had received a message from John. The nine hour time difference was a bear, but we refused to let it stop us from falling hard and fast. It didn't take long for Emma's traveling companions Gretchen (sister) and Lara (dear friend) to realize that Emma was very taken with this tall Mr. Darcy look-a-like from back home. As Emma began sharing the details of our conversations, even Gretchen, whose tendency was to respond to prospective suitors with considerable suspicion, couldn't deny that this guy was DIFFERENT. In fact, just 27 days into John & Emma's 'relationship via WhatsApp', Gretchen declared over dinner in Vienna: "I think you guys are gonna get married". Emma's startled response was flushed agreement. We found ourselves delving into more and more meaningful topics and sharing the things that we saw in our future, and eventually couldn't deny that we wanted one other to be a part of that picture. However - we still hadn't met! We figured that a video chat beat text messages, and we managed to find a time that worked for both time zones. The moment when we finally 'met face-to-face' (albeit via the screen) was where it really started to get real. We talked and laughed and fell more in love for nearly three hours, and it left both of us with stars in our eyes and sappy grins on our faces. We were already goners, without ever having breathed the same air. Two people who never believed in online love, falling for each other on separate continents.

Question

Part 3

Answer

And then - finally - Emma came home. We met for the first time on October 18th. John made the hike to Canby (which soon became a daily ritual) after his work day wrapped up. John cutting in, here - my heart was going at about a million miles a minute. I was already in love, I knew it, and I was confident that I was on the way to meet my wife. She was everything I'd dreamed of and more, and I couldn't wait to bury my face in her hair and tell her how much I loved her. Yes - the L-word got dropped that week. Emma cutting in, here - I was breathlessly anticipating the most thrilling moment of my life up until that point: preparing to meet my Prince Charming, to hug him and never let go. He was so real to me and yet seemed too impossibly wonderful to be anything other than fiction. He stepped out of the car, I stepped onto the porch, and our eyes met for the first time. He bounded up the steps, we finally collided, and John breathed: "Oh wow, you're real." "Yeah," I murmured into his dress shirt... And in that moment I knew, in the deepest part of me, that I was home. The sun was brighter that day than it had ever been, the music was sweeter, the food was better. John fell more and more deeply in love with Emma - and with the rest of the Crowley's. He came back the next day - and the next, and the next, and the next. In fact, there were only six days in the next four months that he didn't make the trek to Canby. The Crowley's quickly fell in love with John, too. Emma was already madly, delightfully in love with John, but meeting his wonderful parents and watching him blend so seamlessly into her family simply sealed the deal. Eva and Genevieve, the youngest of the Crowley crew, would insist that John was coming to see THEM, NOT Emma. (We were ALL smitten.) Evenings were spent cooking dinner, washing dishes, watching movies, playing cards, and dreaming about the future. "Normal life" had never been so magical.

Question

Part 4

Answer

But - an obstacle presented itself... again. Emma was leaving for three months in January to teach English in South America. What were our star-crossed lovers to do? Easy. Ask for parents' blessing and book a wedding venue and caterer before they were OFFICIALLY engaged, send save-the-dates to out-of-towners, and brush off the long-distance skills that they'd perfected during Emma's Euro-tour. In fact, we're writing this together on a WhatsApp video call. John is sitting in his parents' shop in Portland, Emma is sitting in her bedroom in Piedras. Miles and months separate us - but our hearts are as united as they've ever been. We can't wait to do life together, and we can't wait to celebrate the beginning of that life together with YOU!

Question

Frequently Asked Questions:

Answer

Q: You do realize that this is fast, right? A: To us, it's been the perfect pace, a lovely wild ride, with our dear friends and family supporting us and cheering us on through the twists and turns. We're grateful for the incredible (albeit crazy at times... a good kind of crazy!) love story that God continues to write for us. Q: Wait, how much older is he? Wait, how much younger is she? A: E: "Old enough to make me feel taken care of (and old enough to be blissfully offline)." J: "Young enough to make me feel like I'm in high school again (and young enough to help me figure out my cell phone...)." Q: Wait, wait, wait... You met HOW? A: Yeah, we get it, we're still a little shocked, too. But we did, indeed, meeting via a dating app. You know, that last resort that questionable Christians turn to when they've exhausted all other options? (kidding. kind of.) In our case, we were there somewhat (or VERY) reluctantly, and we're just as surprised as you are that we found our person through an algorithm. (I have a sneaking suspicion that God likes to carry out His plans in the way we least expect...) Q: What's it like for an only child to marry the oldest of six? A: It's... a lot of fun. John somehow manages to fit right into the whirlwind craziness that is a big family, and Emma has come to deeply appreciate the ability that John has to form deep, meaningful relationships with basically anyone (when your family is very small, often you get to choose your 'extended' family... and John has chosen well). John loves having siblings, and Emma loves the opportunities to spend truly quiet, calm evenings with Craig and Lynn, John's parents. It's a perfect fit, really.