For those who don’t know, Luke and I have known each other and been friends for about 9 years. We weren’t interested in each other for a long time, but we had a lot of mutual friends and got to know each other through hang outs with our friends and a Bible study we’ve both gone to for years. The Bible study came a little later for Luke, because he wasn’t following Jesus when we met. In 2018, by the Lord’s grace, he was saved. It’s a really sweet gift from the Lord that I’ve gotten to see him grow and mature into a godly man. Some of our friends can tell you that when they asked me about him before, I would say, “I’d give him a chance if he asked, but I have some hesitations I’d want to talk to him about.” I started to have feelings for Luke in January 2024, and I went on our first date in March with those hesitations lessened but not completely resolved. However, in conversations with Luke and others, and through much prayer with the Lord, those hesitations quickly dissolved. He has truly grown into a godly man who I am excited I get to call my husband soon. I couldn’t ask the Lord for a better fit, and I am so grateful for His timing. I was single for a long time before this year, and not being quite so independent has been a sweet adjustment for me. I learned so much in singleness that I am grateful for now. At the time, I know I would have preferred to be married. But the Lord taught me so much about depending on Him and loving other people that just would have been so different if I had married sooner. I know it’s easier now to look back and be grateful for that time. But I can truly say that the Lord’s timing is so good and so much better than my own. In being single into my late twenties, I have had a more conspicuous example of what it means to long for a bridegroom and had to depend on the Lord over and over again to show me that what I was ultimately longing for was, and is, Him, the true Bridegroom who will come back for His Bride, the Church. I have learned to say - and truly mean - that the Lord Jesus is enough, even if He never provides an earthly husband for me (or never does whatever other thing I think I’m owed). Because one day, whether married or single, I will stand in the presence of the Lord, and He will call me His Bride. He will prepare a wedding feast for me, and all those He has saved, that will far surpass the wedding you all are invited to in October. And I will finally understand what I hope my marriage to Luke points us, and hopefully all of you, to: the reality that I have a heavenly Bridegroom who has loved me far better than Luke ever will, that I have done absolutely nothing to earn His love - in fact, I have done everything in my power to reject it and sully his Name - and that He has loved me and sacrificed Himself for me anyway. I don’t deserve it, but I am grateful that one day I will be able to stand in the presence of the Lord, forgiven and cherished, because of this great love. While marriage is only a shadow of the truth I’ve just shared, it is still a sweet gift from the Lord that points us to Him. Luke has pursued and led me so well, showing me an example of Christ, even in our dating and engagement. He doesn’t play games and makes it clear just how much he cares about and loves me. He puts me first, points me toward the Lord, and is always gentle with me, while also consistently holding me accountable to what the Lord requires. He is everything I’ve hoped for. I’m sure there are many more details I could share, but this is how our story fits into the Lord’s story. Our pursuit of marriage is secondary to Jesus’ pursuit of us, and we pray you’ll all see that on our wedding day and for many, many years to come through our marriage.

I first met Jill at a Bible study I had been invited to after moving to Lynchburg 9 years ago. I wasn't a believer at the time, so my attendance was short lived. I continued to see Jill at events, hangouts, and birthday parties over the next few years, but didn't really get to know her all that well. In May of 2018, the Lord opened my eyes to the truth of His gospel, and I was saved. I don't mean to over-simplify that last statement. It has been a life-altering event, that I was not seeking. I was, at that time, running from the Lord in obstinate rebellion. I was unable to even understand my position before a Holy God. Yet, God in his infinite grace and mercy revealed the reality of my depravity, my absolute need for salvation, and reconciled me to Himself. To some this might seem an out of place story for a wedding website. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the very thing that marriage ought to point to. Our aim is to reflect God's love in our marriage. After my salvation, I began attending the same Bible study more earnestly and became good friends with Jill. I've watched her love those around her with patience, kindness, compassion, and long-suffering. I've watched her dependence and trust in the Lord steadily increase. I asked Jill out in March, over a short and nervous phone call. The next three months were spent not just watching but directly experiencing Jill's love, wisdom, compassion, and faithfulness. All done in beauty and in grace. I have been blessed with her, and am beyond excited to be her husband. "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord" - Proverbs 18:22

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”