Our story starts as a classic Bethel story. Those who know Bethel well will probably name things like DC dates or walks around Lake Valentine, possibly even getting coffee from RG in the BC or quote the phrase "ring by spring." For those of you who don't know those things, feel free to brush those add acronyms off or ask one of the members of the wedding party, because yes we all met at Bethel. We do have to admit it did start by a boy talking to a girl in the "BC," which was the main meeting place of the Bethel community. This boy soon started showing up in a lot of the places I went, from the table I liked to do homework at, to my job at the library on Tuesday nights. It didn't take long for me to realize he would maybe make a move. But this one made me feel comfortable. This one was different. Our first date started with me, being so nervous when he asked me out, telling him the complete wrong time I was done with class. This of course added to my nerves as I prepared myself to act normal as I was completely frazzled. But I knew this would be something good when Alex walked up to my door to pick me up, and started playing the playlist he created specifically for us to listen to in the car. Who does that??? We continued to hang out together and get to know each other in the following weeks, but our plans were soon thwarted by the ever known Covid pandemic. Not even one month after our first date, we were forced out of Bethel and back home with our families. With Alex living in Rochester and me in the cities, we had a bit of a drive between us for a couple of college kids who barely knew each other, trying to hang out when it was forbidden to be within 6 feet of someone. We are basically a modern day Romeo and Juliet, if you will. We soon found ourselves on 5 hour facetime calls between our online Zoom classes and extended family time. Although this was a hard time in general for the majority of the world, we have looked back to see so many blessings during this time. It made time move so slowly, and allowed us to just talk about nothing. It didn't take long to know the random likes and dislikes of each other, as well as what our biggest pet peeves and dreams for our lives. When summer came we both moved into rental houses with college friends, just 15 minutes away from each other- what a treat this was! Our summer consisted of spend time with friends, going to beaches and ice cream shops, and of course lots of jeep rides. From here, we navigated anniversaries, holidays, date nights, schoolwork, adulting, friendships and how to keep God at the center. We quickly found our rhythm and became each others "person." Looking back on our story, we have grown and stretched so much. We have learned about each other, and even more about the Lord and His hand in our lives. It has been fun to plan our wedding and future together, especially seeing where we started. We are forever grateful for the people who walked with us, and hope to only grow in the ones not only invest in us, but also who we get to invest in as we begin our marriage. Thank you for being a part of our day to celebrate all that God has done in our lives. We are so grateful you are here.