Marriage. Marriage is what brings us together today!

Josiah and Hanna grew up together in the small town of Ojai, CA. For many years, Josiah's father was the pastor of the church Hanna's family attended. Though separated by a few years, Josiah and Hanna would spend a lot of time together due to church, shared friends, and their younger sisters being best friends from a young age. When they were teenagers, Hanna developed a big crush on Josiah. His best friend would come to know this, so naturally Josiah found out as well. He had always been fond of Hanna, but a relationship would never be given the chance to develop because his family would soon move far away. Josiah left Hanna with a parting kiss on the cheek and any dream of them being together someday was crushed. It would be about 15 years before they were reunited! Though Josiah had left Ojai, his hometown would never leave his heart. Deep down there was always a dream to return, and at the beginning of this year he would finally see that dream come true! Josiah and Hanna had both just about given up on love by the time he returned. By God's grace, Hanna was still living in Ojai! She was in for quite the surprise when she walked into her young adults group one night to see Josiah sitting there catching up with old friends! They would also catch up over lunch that same week. Josiah's family and new found friends would encourage him to pursue Hanna, so he set up an official dinner date with her which ended up going very well! Their young love would be rekindled and Josiah officially asked Hanna to be his girlfriend soon after. Then a pandemic hit! At first this made figuring out a new relationship interesting, but they would take it in stride and make it work. Over the next several months they got creative in how they spent time together and were able to get to know each other real well. Love would quickly blossom between them and naturally continue to grow. Josiah knew he wanted to marry Hanna, so on their six month anniversary he proposed, and she said yes!

Towards the beginning of Josiah and Hanna's relationship they went on a hike with their friends around the perimeter of Lake Casitas. At the end of this particular trail, nestled in a small peninsula, there sits a bench under an oak tree. Josiah and Hanna sat there to rest a while, take in the view, and have one of their usual sincere conversations. Unbeknownst to Josiah, this is when Hanna had planned to tell him she loved him for the first time. She ended up waiting for another day soon after while they picnicked down by the river, but Josiah kept the time they spent under the oak tree close to his heart. Due to the nationwide pandemic, they would not return there again like they always talked about until several months later. Over those months they had to get creative with their dates, so those moments became extra special ways they broke up the monotony. When Josiah began planning the proposal he thought it would be a good idea to revisit those special moments and put together a video for Hanna to watch as a testament of their love for each other. He would also use the video as a segue into the proposal, so when Hanna finished watching and looked up she would see Josiah on one knee. Josiah's siblings came into town the weekend of their six month anniversary under the guise of celebrating Hanna's birthday. They started with brunch and then decided to go on a hike around the lake 'to go exploring and take some pretty photos'. Hanna bought it, but really Josiah needed them out there to document the big surprise! Everything almost went perfectly, except for Josiah opening the ring box upside down! Hanna was sweet about it though and he quickly made it right. Then she said yes and they were happily engaged! Josiah had one more ace up his sleeve though! Back at his house their family and friends had been setting up an engagement party. She was once again surprised and they spent the evening celebrating with many of their closest people! An unforgettable day indeed!