Our love story began the summer of 2014 in Lexington, KY. I was a student at the University of Kentucky and David was a young professional living in Orange County, CA. David's childhood friend, Jordan, lived in Lexington at the time and hosted him and another buddy for the 140th Kentucky Derby. As serendipity would have it, we crossed paths that fateful weekend and it was "off to the races", as they say. Before you begin to envision me in a wide brimmed hat locking eyes with a handsome, well dressed stranger from across the lawn, I must admit the beginning of our whirlwind romance did not start off so picturesque. Though not a scene from a Nora Ephron film, I still get butterflies thinking of our first hello's. Sunday morning, the day after Derby Saturday, my college roommate and best gal pal, TJ, and I headed to our regular breakfast joint to enjoy mimosas and eggs Benedict. It was there, in the clothes I had slept in from the night prior, that I first laid eyes on my future husband. After minutes of hushed whispers and ogling at our handsome table neighbors, I did what any girl with 2+ glasses of champagne in her system would do: I sparked a friendly conversation. I won't bore you with the details, but numbers were exchanged, plans were made, and so the beginning of our journey together. David and I spent the next couple of years in casual, long-distance communication, visiting one another in whatever state would allow; California, Ohio, Wisconsin, to name a few. In September of 2016, David accompanied me to Key Largo, FL as my plus-one for a friend's wedding. It was the last trip we took as a would-be, should-be, wish-we-could-be couple. We fell in love that weekend listening to Barrington Levy, drinking far too much tequila, pruned by the pool and flush from the sun. A few months later, David flew across the country to help me drive a U-Haul from Indiana to San Diego. 1,975 miles, countless laughs, and one ring later, I sit here smiling typing our story.

David and I found ourselves in the heartbreaking predicament of cancelling a wedding celebration that was so thoughtfully and carefully planned...twice. The initial plan was to get married in La Jolla, CA on July 17th of 2020. With all our food, flowers, and music selected, we were so excited to host our closest friends and family for a weekend full of sunshine, tequila, and sick reggae beats. When the statewide, mandated shutdown was first announced in March, we remained optimistic, hoping we'd be able to safely gather in five months time. After speaking with every physician and nurse we know, it soon became clear to us that our wedding in paradise would need to be postponed. Shortly after we announced the postponement, David accepted a job offer that would relocate us from San Diego to his home town of Salt Lake City, UT. With this knowledge, as well as that of the increasing COVID cases throughout the country, David and I decided to scrap our plans of a big, traditional, Southern California wedding. Thus began the planning of wedding 2.0. My parents, who recently retired to Greensboro, GA, began helping us plan an intimate, family-only wedding event on the charming and scenic Lake Oconee. It was to be a long weekend spent sailing, fishing, and cozying up near fireplaces, an Old Fashioned in hand. Sadly, just weeks before David and I were to fly out, we received unfortunate news that would rock our plans once again. My dearest Uncle Mark, who was to officiate our marriage, became very ill and made the difficult yet wise decision to cancel his travel plans and begin his period of quarantine (he is now fully recovered and in good health). My other aunts and uncles had just spent Thanksgiving with him and decided it was best that they too cancel their travels. And just like that, half our guest list had the last minute RSVP of "regrets". This brings us to the finale of the Pamelia Johnson Wedding saga.

In the interest of our loved one's health and safety, Davey and I once again came to terms with the fact that months of re-planning had been for naught. After plenty of tears shed on my part and lots of comforting smooches from my sweet D, we made our final announcement that regardless of it all, we would still be married by the end of the year. Reluctantly and begrudgingly, we began planning our third wedding. We found a beautiful spot in Big Cottonwood Canyon, UT with views for miles. We bought all the Cook's champagne left on the shelf, and said "that'll do!" On Thursday, December 31, 2020, David Gene and myself got married on top of a mountain under a flurry of snow. It was as close to a fairytale as I've ever been.

So, here we are. Finally. It feels like an eternity ago that Maria and David asked me to officiate their wedding. I must admit I was nervous to be trusted with this high honor. After all, I am not a minister or priest. I am just an old journalist. I wondered what I would say. And then a light bulb went on in my head. “You’ve told other people’s stories your whole life. Why don’t you tell the story of Maria and David?” And so that is what I will do. This is a story more than six years in the making and it spans from sea to shining sea, but it all begins in Lexington, Kentucky. You see, Maria is a proud graduate of the University of Kentucky, which is in Lexington, just an hour away from Louisville where the Kentucky Derby is run every year. Maria and Davey (as Maria likes to call her soon-to-be-husband) met in May 2014, the weekend of the 140th running of the Derby. David’s childhood friend, Jordan Pendleton, was living in Lexington at the time and he hosted David and another buddy for Derby weekend. They had the full Derby experience filled with bourbon, cigars, betting and the like. Meanwhile, Maria and her roommates also were celebrating Derby Saturday, but from the comfort of the campus at a friend’s house. The next day, Maria and her roommate TJ did their usual Sunday morning thing of going to their favorite breakfast joint, First Watch, in order to wolf down some food as they nursed their hangovers. They sat at a table next to three large men, one of whom wore a ponytail and all of whom were wearing big, black sunglasses. These men were talking with a couple seated nearby when our girls overheard the couple say, “It was such a pleasure meeting you. I hope you guys enjoy your stay”.

That exchange got the girls wondering whether these three young hunks were celebrities of some sort. “Bashful” is not a word you would use to describe Maria, so the girls leaned over from their table and asked, “Are you guys famous?” They, of course, were not famous. However, they WERE nice guys, so after some chatting they exchanged phone numbers and made plans to hang out that evening. But the hanging out almost did not happen. To quote Maria: “TJ and I were so close to flaking on our grand plans of meeting up with 3 strangers. I’m forever grateful for whatever possessed us to leave the apartment that night” After a couple nights of hanging out, giggling and flirting, David flew back to his home in California. Maria and David kept in touch for the next three years, meeting wherever and whenever they could. It helped that David traveled for work at the time; if he was within driving distance, Maria would set out on a road trip. If David had enough reward miles, he would fly to her. Their final “meet up” as Maria calls it, was in the Florida Keys. She was going there to attend the wedding of a friend who had sent her a “plus 1” invitation. Maria asked Davey if he would make the cross-country trip to be her “plus 1” date. Again to quote Maria, “The angel of a man said yes” During what Maria called “the most magical, beautiful fantasy of a wedding weekend” she fell in love with Davey. Hard. It was during this trip that Maria realized she could not live without Davey. Little did she know that he was bitten by the same bug. Each of them flew home, David to Orange County and Maria to Washington, D.C., where she was attending Gallaudet University, known for its education for the Deaf. Neither Maria nor Davey knew if or when they’d see each other again, as was the case for all their goodbyes. It was a sad time indeed.

Enter our heroes, Ma and Pa Pamelia, Maria’s mom and dad. My sister-in-law Vicki and her husband Frank had never met their daughter’s Davey. They, along with most others, thought this long-distance romance would be a fleeting thing. But after the Florida trip, Maria called her mom and explained every emotion in her being through thick tears. To quote Maria, “God bless my parents for having the hearts they do. They understood and began helping me plan a move to California and a university transfer to pursue a list of unknowns” Plans were made, belongings were moved, and the man Maria calls her “sweet D” was there for every minute and mile of it. Just days after Christmas 2016, Davey booked a one-way ticket from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Evansville, Indiana, for the sole purpose of helping Maria drive her worldly possessions from there to San Diego. On January 1, 2017, Davey asked Maria to be his girl. On April 26, 2019, Davey asked Maria if she would be his wife. And now, here on Dec. 31, 2020, their marriage is about to take place. As you can see from this story, Maria and David have what I call a determined love. It is a love that says “I do not know all the steps that I will take on this journey known as life, but I am determined to take them with you, together” It is a love that says, “I know the road will not always be smooth and that there will be obstacles along the way, but I am determined to overcome them with you, together”. The apostle Paul talked about this kind of determined love when he wrote to the church in Rome about the love that Jesus Christ has for us. Paul said that neither life nor death, nor powers nor principalities, nor things present nor to thing to come, can separate us from the love of God. Paul didn’t include Covid-19 in his list, but David and Maria are proving a determined love can overcome a pandemic, too. Well, this young couple has waited long enough to say their vows and enter into marriage. So, let’s get on with it!