It was a hot summer day during the Watermark Community Church college retreat. John was a small group leader, and Stevi was a worship leader. The two found themselves in the breakroom when John mustered up the courage to say “Hey. Good job up there.” Stevi replied back without skipping a beat, “Thanks.” Stevi left the room, and John casually checked his pulse to make sure he wasn’t about to have a heart attack. And that’s when we knew it was true love. Just kidding. But that’s the first time they met. The jury is still out on whether or not John’s heart actually did skip a beat. Weeks later, John and his roommates hosted a Coffee Hangout at their house - think somewhere between a proper English teatime and a giant day party with 100+ people. This is where John and Stevi had their first conversation, and John left that day determined to ‘conveniently find himself’ in the same room as Stevi as much as possible. John’s first move was to ask Stevi if she would be the “guest chef” at a dinner party the guys were hosting at their house. And of course, this was speaking her love language, so they soon became co-hosts in crime. Thus ensued the countless wine nights, game nights, and dinners, all culminating in their first date at Sixty Vines in Dallas. Little did John know that his entire team at Accenture decided to also go to dinner at Sixty Vines that night. There are a few more details to the story, but for the sake of brevity, we’ll leave those off. (Ask John about it sometime, you won’t be disappointed.)

Fast forward about 15 months later to February 2021. Stevi and her parents were on their way to a "surprise birthday dinner for her mom" in downtown Ft. Worth when her Dad took a detour to a nearby airport to "avoid traffic". There, a helicopter (!!!! - emphasis added by Stevi) was waiting to fly the 3 of them across the DFW metroplex to Dallas where John waited on the roof of the Dallas Convention Center to pop the question. After many hugs and pictures with friends and family, the two lovebirds flew off into the sunset. It was actually a movie scene. If you’ve gotten this far down the page, we want to sincerely thank you from the bottom of our heart for playing a part in our stories up to this point. We would not be the people we are without you being a part of our lives. So here’s to many more nights of dancing in the kitchen, trips to see friends, loving our neighbors, and loving God. We can’t wait to celebrate with you soon!