Most Ardently

Jessica's Perspective Peyton and I met in College Station, TX at our local gym (he worked front desk) and he was positively the sweetest most genuine guy I had ever met! I asked him a handful of times if he would maybe want to hangout sometime to which he would always say, "Yeah that sounds so fun! My schedule is really booked right now but when it clears up I'm there." I would later find out he was actually only saying that to be polite because he assumed I was one of those girls that suggests plans but doesn't end up following through, and he was really trying to protect his heart. Finally one day, he caught me in the parking lot and said, "Hey, I am so sorry it's taken me so long, but my semester is clear now and I would love to hangout if you still want to!" A few amazing dates later and I was so smitten!! We had left town for a weekend with friends and we got lost coming back from the campsite because his car stereo had blown and we had no charging capability for our very dead phones. We pulled over at a Valero in San Marcos, TX and asked the gas station attendant for a paper and his phone to write down instructions to College Station so we could navigate the old fashioned way. Then in the candy aisle he looked at me and said, "How do you feel about the 28th?" I said..."Um, I like it why?" And he replied with, "Will you be my girlfriend?" Who knew we would end up unknowingly picking the spot we would say "I do" 0.9 miles from that exact gas station where we became boyfriend and girlfriend in the candy aisle? Peyton's Perspective I met my soulmate within the first week or so of starting a new job at Gold's Gym in 2022. As I was leaving work one day, I remember spotting her sitting against a wall and thinking that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid my eyes upon. I immediately got very nervous as I wanted to make a good impression on her. Throughout the next few weeks, I would talk with her while on the clock. I thoroughly enjoyed her company and conversations, and we slowly began to build a friendship that was special and unlike any that I had experienced before. My crush turned into something more and I had a burning desire to ask her on a date. She had made multiple attempts to spend time outside of the gym at this point, but I was too scared to let my guard down and allow her in. I remember the day Jess had just left the gym as I had gotten off of work. I was heading outside to my car when I saw her driving up next to me and I waved at her to stop. I knew at this moment that it was now or never. She rolled down her window and I asked if she wanted to go to the pool together now that my semester was over. She delightfully accepted and I asked for her phone number. I believe it was a Wednesday that we first spent time together and decided to go to Smoothie King, swim, play pool and cook dinner. I loved every single second of it and knew immediately that I was smitten with her. I remember as she was leaving, I nervously asked her if she was doing anything the next day, and the next, and the next... I have been head over heels ever since. I am indescribably thankful to the Lord for providing such an incredible, sweet, kind, genuine, and intentional woman for me, and I cannot wait to marry her.

While planning our trip to France, I had one special request, which was to have dinner at Le Plongeoir in Nice. I made sure to make a reservation the month before, as Nice was our last destination before returning home and I thought it would be a sweet and romantic cap to our French summer! After two whirlwind weeks of travel, before dinner over the Mediterranean Sea, Peyton asked me to go on a quick cliffside stroll past the restaurant to take in the view. Upon arriving at a scenic overlook, he insisted we walk down the stairs to go look out over the edge and snap a few pics. I may or may not have fixated on a cliff edge a bit further down and really wanted to go explore that instead haha, but after a bit of adamant convincing from Peyton, we walked down the steps leading to the overlook and straight into our forever!!! We approached the wall to look out at the sea and Peyton asked for my purse. As I handed it to him, I remembered the camera was still inside and went to grab for it so that we could snap a few pictures together but he quickly withdrew insisting that I didn't need it in that moment. It suddenly clicked and I looked at him in disbelief and asked, "Are you doing what I think you're doing?". He laughed and took my hands and everything is blurry in my memory from that point on. The next thing I knew, my arms were wrapped around my now FIANCÉ, and I repeatedly blurted out, "oui, oui, oui!!!" A local French photographer Peyton had been corresponding with, posed as a tourist, sat incognito on a bench as we approached the wall but now came forward with a wide smile and asked to capture the moment we will hold dear to our hearts for the rest of our forever. I am truly overwhelmed by the Lord's abundant provision and by how privileged I am to call John Peyton Logan my soon-to-be husband!!! He is steadfast, tender-hearted, gentle in spirit, full of wisdom, unconditional in his love, and the answer to all of my prayers. We're over! the! moon! excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you! See you in San Marcos!

I knew quite early in our relationship that Jessica was the one I had been praying for since I was a little boy. She is everything that I had asked for and more. I remember within a few months of dating, we were talking about our desire to travel throughout the globe and places that we would like to go someday (I would go anywhere as long as I am with her), and we had settled on France being a place we would both love to visit. I decided at that moment that would be the place where I would ask for the honor and privilege of her hand in marriage. It was the beginning of June, and I had just started my summer classes when I decided to begin planning my proposal. We planned on leaving for France in August and I knew I needed to begin the process of finding the ring. After looking through many beautiful diamonds, I finally found “the one.” The only thing left was to ask for Mr. Salwen's blessing and work out specifically where, when, and how I would propose. I met Mr. Salwen between classes in late June at Cava in College Station, just around the corner from A&M campus, and asked for the honor of marrying his daughter. I was delighted to receive an ecstatic yes. I then spent the next few weeks scouring Google Maps to find a lovely and romantic place to propose and decided on the public beach in Nice, France, because Jess has always reiterated how in love with the sea she is. After some research, I connected with a local photographer in the French Riviera area and told her where and when we would be there. With my proposal speech written, I spent most of the trip in France going over it on my phone when she was not looking and making sure that I got all of the key points memorized and perfected. I quickly realized during this process that words will never fully be able to describe the love that I have for her. When we finally arrived in Nice, I discovered that my original plan to propose on the public beach would not suffice due to the mass of people that occupied it. I really wanted our proposal to be a special and private moment for the both of us, so after leaving, I immediately messaged the photographer and began working on plan B. I convinced Jess to take a walk with me to check out another location I had picked as a secondary option on Google Maps that happened to be closer to our dinner reservation the next evening. Once we arrived, I knew that this was going to be our place. It was a beautiful outlook over the sea and very private and secluded. The next day, we split a pizza from a local pizzeria and swam in the Mediterranean Sea before getting ready for our dinner reservation. I somehow convinced her to wear a white dress without raising suspicions and hid the ring box in my back pocket by wearing an oversized linen button-up over it. I had requested that we take photos with our camera prior to dinner with the sunset in the background, and she thought that was a great idea. I remember walking the 20-minute walk to the location and feeling so excited for the beginning of the rest of my life with such a beautiful, intentional, caring, and God-fearing woman. When we finally arrived at the location, I spotted the photographer, took my love’s hands, and began my proposal.

"Loving you over the past year has been one of a fairytale. We have gone through so much together, both highs and lows, and have come out stronger together as well as closer with the Lord as a result. I am amazed to this day at how devoted you are to consistently and unconditionally loving me for who I am and all of the flaws that I have. The absolute most important quality that you have is your relentless desire for the Lord and constant pursuit of Him which has been a privilege to watch and support you in. You have shown me what a Godly woman is and now that I have that I will never let you go. You're beautiful, graceful, and I know for a fact that you will be the greatest wife to me." Jessica Corinne Salwen, will you give me the honor of marrying you?

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."