This is Why I love Him...

Welcome to our wedding website, we can't wait to celebrate our special day with you! We have created this website as an interactive way to share important details with you in the lead up to our wedding. You can also read more about our love story, meet our bridal party, leave comments and/or questions. We're blessed to already have a home full of mostly everything we need, so you can contribute online to our dream honeymoon here on Zola or by using HoneyFund link. Click on the gift registry tab (in the upper left corner you will find the tabs). On that page, you’ll see links to our various online registry options. So in the meantime have fun, take a look around and most importantly don't forget to RSVP. Click on the RSVP tab. We would love for you to leave a reception song request under “note for the couple”. Finally, thank you for your ongoing love and support. Johnnie and I are so excited to share this special day with you and look forward to dancing the night away with all of our favorite people! See you on Labor Day Weekend...

We are both helping professionals—substance abuse counselors. We met for the first time on my first day of work as a counselor, outside in the parking lot. Johnnie introduced himself to me as Mr. Christian. He had a distinct voice but immediately his name struck something in my spirit. Early in my recovery process, I had discovered the spiritual meaning of my first name, and that was very significant to me. Ironically, my first name and his last name had the same spiritual meaning—“follower of Christ”. For a brief moment, my mind paused and the thought came..."Tina Christian". We often laugh about the fact that we didn't really like each other "all like that" for a quite some time. Then one day, God said to him..."that's her". Johnnie says that he was like “really God?” Her? 🤔

In August 18, 2017 and just by coincidence, we ended up on the Good Time II boat ride downtown. It was my sponsor's birthday and we had an all white party planned for her. I was having a really bad hair day that day due to the high humidity and Johnnie pulls up and parks right near me. I didn't want anyone to see me with my now poofy hair, let alone one of my co-workers. Oh Lord, I thought...I was so embarrassed. Actually, I was hoping that he would just go away but he came over to my car and refused to leave my side. I told him what was going on, thinking he would just go but he wanted to help me as I crouched down behind a car desperately trying to fix my hair using bottled water and gel I had in the car. After I finally got my hair together, we both walked onto the boat. Initially, we went our separate ways but he eventually found me again on the boat and ended up hanging out with me and my support group for most of the night. It felt as if we were on a date but that wasn't the case at all. We danced together, laughed a whole lot and took a few selfies but I really didn't think much about it after that. Then one day out of the blue, my sponsor asked me, "what happened to the guy we met on the boat?" “Who Johnnie?” I said, "yeah, he seems like a nice guy but he works with me, so I could never date him any way”. I had always said that I would NEVER date a man I worked with! So as far as I was concerned, he was disqualified. 😂

I must say that Johnnie has always been quite the gentleman. He eventually began to invite himself to my special events. He opened doors for me, had breakfast waiting for me every morning & cleaned the snow off of my car after work, and though we were driving separate cars he would pull up to pump my gas, put air in my tires, you name it, he did it 😊. His attentiveness was consistent and becoming noticeable to everyone. We often laugh because he says he was dating me for months before I ever realized it. Actually, I thought he was just being really nice to me just because he just seemed like a really nice guy. His personality was magnetic and he was very charming. He always seemed extra happy to see me for some reason 🤔. I tried hard not to notice at first and I was still very guarded because my plan was to stay single and date myself for the next few years 🤦🏽‍♀️ Well...that was MY plan. I’ve heard that if you wanna make God laugh, just tell Him YOUR plans 😂 Apparently, God had a much different plan 😇. Johnnie started inviting me out to dinner and we had great conversation. We talked about everything...mainly our love for God, recovery, work, our families and life in general. I found him to be very intelligent and his energy was contagious. Our friendship grew and we were always laughing with one another. I would stop in his office every morning to talk to him and whenever he wasn't around, I missed his presence. As I look back, he has supported me in my most worst moments and at my best moments. Johnnie was aware of my plan to remain single but he was determined to change my mind and win my heart. It was like he was one of my best friends. In various situations, I could feel his gentle protection over me. Irregardless, I kept resisting what was becoming more and more obvious—his love for me. Then one day out of the blue, he walks into my office, looks me straight in the eyes and asks me this question—"Tina...will you just allow me to love you?"...

The week of Valentine's Day in 2018 is when our relationship took off. This is the week I realized and acknowledged that we were dating 😂. This entire week, Johnnie romanced me in a way that I had never experienced before in my life. He literally swept me off of my feet by doing something every single day of the week that made me feel adored, special and loved—from Pandora charms to chocolate covered strawberries. He had said this was going to be a very special week for me cause Valentine is my last name but I had no idea what he had up his sleeve. He had always been very attentive to my needs but this was the week that he took it over the top! He made it very clear that he was pursuing me and that he was very serious about me and only me. I felt so overwhelmed by the love that it literally brought me to tears one day in my office with a co-worker. Something just came over me, a feeling I will never forget. I knew that there was something very different about this man and this relationship. My daughter said, “I think God sent you an angel Mommy!” Actually, I felt the same way but this just seemed too good to be true. I was still cautious.

On April 17, 2018 Johnnie popped the question. He came in my office and closed the door, covered my eyes with his hands and slid a what felt like a ring onto my wedding finger. Actually I thought that it might be a friendship ring or something. When I opened my eyes, there he was on one knee asking me to marry him. It felt surreal! I had no idea that he loved me enough to want to marry me. I was completely in shock. I said yes and then I told him I need to call my sponsor 😂. I absolutely had to run this past her. We still often laugh about that. She gave me her blessing! After my recovery began, I had began praying that God would send me a husband. Well, my prayer has been answered! So here we are, ready to commit to one another for the rest of our lives. Forever Christian! We are so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you. Until then...muah! P.S. Please RSVP now if you haven’t already...thanks again!