🐆 I met Carista in church at the tail end of 2022. The first thing that caught my eye about her was the graceful way she did her eye shadow (hahaha). From then on, I’d find small excuses to be near her circle of friends—just close enough to quietly observe the kind of person she was. The more I watched, the more I saw her heart: a woman of deep faith, discipline, and devotion—and that captured mine. But at the time, I wasn’t in a season to pursue anyone, and it brought a quiet ache to feel myself drawn to her while being convicted to remain single. For 11 months I held to that conviction, even as my affection quietly deepened. By the time Carista finished her Master’s program and prepared to return to New York, I feared I’d missed my chance. So, with courage, I asked to meet for what I called a “closure” conversation—to tell her that I had a massive crush on her since the day we met, and that I was content if we were simply to remain friends. To my surprise, Carista smiled and asked whether I meant to stay as friends or start as friends—opening the door to something beautiful. I seized the moment without hesitation, and here we are, a little over two years later, ready and overjoyed to take the next lifelong step of marriage together.

🦔 I met Nick at church in the fall of 2022 while pursuing my master’s in Seattle. I thought he was cute—so much so that I still remember exactly what he wore: a black shirt and dark-washed jeans! At first, there was not much progression between us since I was too busy with work, school, and ministry to think about dating. After I graduated, I started wondering about Nick’s feelings. I knew he had been interested in me, but I wasn’t sure if that was still true. A week before I had to return to New York, he asked me to hang out. He shared his feelings and his prayer journey about me, yet neither of us acted—he thought he had no chance, and I thought he was over me. A few days later, we sorted out our misunderstanding and decided to be LDFs—‘long-distance friends.’ I remember asking him, ‘Do you want to stay as friends or start as friends?’. This question truly confused him because it made him think that we weren't even friends to begin with 😅. Fast forward to January 2024: I visited Seattle again… and we finally became official~

🐆 It was a whirlwind season… Just a month earlier, I had been deep in the trenches of job hunting after seven long months of being laid off. Then, almost suddenly, blessings began to unfold—I landed a new job that also paid for the second year of my MBA program. Opportunities grew, but most importantly, having that job meant I finally had the green light to take the next step in my journey with Carista—proposal! After reaching out to her parents for their permission and blessing to marry their daughter, I flew her entire family to Washington, joining my own so they could all witness the moment I asked the love of my life to be my wife. It was nothing short of a dream come true—a breathtaking culmination of patience, faith, and love finally coming full circle.

🦔 Unfortunately... I saw it coming! Haha. I was told to only bring one nice dress & shoes to wear for our second year anniversary dinner. What I didn't know was that Nick flew my family in. Sadly (again haha), as the day went on, I had an inkling that they were in town because no one was replying to my messages and all their locations were turned off. Needless to say, the proposal was amazing and very touching. Lesson learned though: try my best to not pry so that I can fully enjoy my surprises 🤗