Title: Stacey & Josh

Date: October 21, 2011

The day we met:
Josh and I met on March 30, 2010. I remember, because it was my very first day starting my new job. I walked into the office and was directed to go into a conference room to attend “new hire training”. I walked into the room and most of the seats were already taken. I walked around to the back of the room and there was a few empty seats, which just happened to be right next to where Josh was sitting (he had also just started at the same company 2 weeks before me in the IT dept.). I thought he was really cute immediately. We made some small talk, and I had noticed him eyeing me throughout the day. I went home that night and my sister had asked me how my first day of work went, and I said it went very good, and that I was pretty sure the IT guy liked me.

Our first date:
He had asked one of the ladies I worked with to “get the scoop” on me. Well, she immediately spilled the beans and told me he was interested in me. For the first week at work we bantered back and forth, exchanged numbers, and started talking a bit more after work. I had asked him when he was going to ask me out on a date, and he basically said that he was afraid I would say no. Although I assured him I wouldn’t, he still didn’t ask. I didn’t want to wait for him to muster up the gumption to ask, so I just asked him myself. He said yes. We made a date for the upcoming Friday, we were going to get drinks at a little bar in Clarksville. I thought we would have a quiet and intimate first date, but when we walked in, we were greeted by huge tableful of Josh’s friends. They called us over to sit with them, and I couldn’t help but think, is this some kind of a sick joke! I’m going on a first date AND I’m going to play 20 questions with all his friends in one night! I was a good sport and talked a lot with everyone. We spent some time with everyone, and then Josh asked if I wanted to move somewhere where we could talk. We talked for hours that evening. It just felt so natural to talk to him. I wanted to hear about his whole life, I felt butterflies every time he would smile at me. A friend of Josh’s said that she was watching us that night, and every so often we would scoot closer to each other, so by the end of the evening, our chairs were right up against each other. I’ve also been told that everyone at the table bet we would get married too.

I didn’t want us to get serious right away, I was very nervous about starting a new relationship in the first place, let alone starting a new relationship with someone I work with at my new job! I told Josh that I wanted things to go slow and not get ahead of ourselves and get too serious too quickly. Turns out, that was a fleeting thought, as we have been pretty much inseparable ever since.

The proposal:
Josh had always made comments to me that he was going to marry me. It would make me smile and think how great things really were between us. I adored being around him. We had made plans to go out to dinner with my sister and brother-in-law for my sister’s birthday. We met them at the Listening Room, and we ordered drinks to celebrate, but my sister ordered a glass of water. I looked at her funny, and thought, something was definitely up with her. My brother-in-law, Cary, said, Amy has something to tell you. And I’m pretty sure my eyes popped right out of my head when I screamed, Oh my gosh, you’re pregnant! She just smiled at me and nodded her head yes. We celebrated all night. At the end of the evening, we wished everyone congratulations, and went home. When Josh and I got back, he brought me close to him. He kneeled down, and took my hand and said he didn’t want to live his life without me. He said he wanted us to be as happy as Amy and Cary were, and that he would spend the rest of his life working to make sure that we were. He said he didn’t have a ring to give me right now, but that he still wanted to know … will you marry me? I dropped down to my knees and hugged him and held his face in my hands and said yes.
We spent some time picking out my ring together. He wasn’t at work the day he got it, but came by to pick me up. When he arrived, he had his son, Ayson with him. I was walking down the hall when I saw them, and there was a barrage of people behind them. Everyone knew that he had the ring with him, and everyone, except me, also knew that Ayson had the box. Ayson walked up to me, held the box out and said, Stacey this is for you. I took the box from him and held it. Everyone around us was just staring, waiting for me to open the box. Josh took the box from me, opened it, and showed me my ring. It was beautiful. He took it out of the box and placed it on my finger. It was perfect!
I can’t wait to marry this man. I adore him more each day we spend together

Title: Emily & Jordan

Date: October 2, 2011

Jordan and I met in missions. I have worked with Youth With A Mission in Nashville for the past 5 years and I have been involved in training and equipping missionaries in our program called Discipleship Training School. I have traveled to many different countries and I love what I do.

In Jan. 2010 I started working on my 2nd training school as staff. In this season of my life God spoke to my heart about my life changing and that I would meet my husband. However, I didn’t see any potentials nor was my heart open to any of the guys in the school. My focus was to completely follow Jesus and be “married” to him in my heart. During this time Jordan was in the DTS (Discipleship Training School) as a student, and God was transforming his heart and mind with new revelations. He was completely consumed with the Lord and was learning about his Kingdom. We only saw each other as friends and had very few conversations during the first part of the DTS.

In April, we traveled as a school to Thailand and China for a 2 month mission trip. I lead Jordan’s team in Thailand and that’s when the Lord started to open our eyes to one another, I was scared out of my mind. One night in Bangkok, we were worshipping as a team on top of a roof of this huge building. It was amazing, you could see the whole city.

After our time as a team, Jordan approached me to ask about my relationship I have with God. He was really seeking God during this time. We sat on the roof and talked until we realized that everyone was gone and we were the only ones left. After that conversation, Jordan stayed up all night because he realized that I was the kind of woman he had been looking for in life. I felt the same way about him but I couldn’t share how I felt because I was his leader. I knew that I needed to wait and let him pursue me.

God spoke so much to my heart about waiting for my husband to come and I wanted to make sure that Jordan was the one for me. Being a leader, I had to focus on taking care of my team. It was really hard. Over the next month in Thailand, we got to know each other as friends, having no idea our feelings for each other. Jordan wasn’t really good at hiding his feelings but I was clueless to the things he would say to me. At the end of our time in Thailand, some others on our team began to notice Jordan’s actions toward me.

One night we sat down and talked. Jordan apologized for allowing his feelings for me to go further in his heart than just friendship. He had no idea how I felt about him. At the end of his apology I shared with him that I felt the same way. He was shocked. I felt so awkward that I looked at him and told him that I was going to bed…. yes, I’m retarded.

Anyways, so after that we waited and talked with our leadership when we got to China. After his school was over in June we started dating. Since then God has brought us through a lot. We’ve learned a lot and grown closer as a couple. On December 22nd Jordan asked me to marry him at my parents house in Georgia. He surprised me with white lilies on my bed and a note sharing his heart with me. Then he took me out to a Thai food restaurant in my hometown, since Thailand is where God brought us together.

We are planning on moving into Nashville and continuing in ministry as a couple after we get married on Oct. 2nd! We are so excited for the amazing adventure that Jesus has for us. We are so thankful to Kathy & Brian. They have been such a blessing to ourlives in planning our wedding.

Title: Rachel & Matt

Date: September 17, 2011

I heard about Matt long before I met him. Matt was a good friend of my sorority sister’s husband, Chris. Even though he had a girlfriend at the time, my sorority sister, Iveylee, thought he and I would be perfect for each other. Much to their and my disappointment, there were no “sparks” so to speak when Matt and I finally met. In fact, we did not talk again for nearly four months after our first meeting in February of 2010.

The four of us, Iveylee, Chris, Matt and myself, all attend Midtown Fellowship. Matt and I often saw each other at church, and even sat on the same row, but we never actually sat next to each other, and so never had a reason to talk until May. Our first real conversation consisted of Matt overhearing me complaining to Chris about being single. I joked about starting a singles group at Midtown, and Matt chimed in to say he would attend. With that statement I knew that Matt was now officially single.

The next week, our friends were going to be out of town. Matt, not wanting to go to church alone, asked me over facebook if I would be attending that week, and if I would mind sitting with him at church. That day was the most fun I have ever had at a church service. I think I made fun of Matt the entire service! Matt did not  sing at church, and I pestered him about it the whole time. Day one, I was hooked.

We decided to join a small group together that started on Thursday night of that week. We attended the small group, and afterwards, I invited Matt over for a drink. We talked until one in the morning. If I hadn’t been hooked already, Matt had me then. He was the most interesting person I had ever talked with. The conversation never stopped.

I, of course, immediately texted Iveylee, who texted Chris, who texted Matt and told him that I wanted him to ask me out. That week, our relationship formed via text through our friends. We had our first official date the next Sunday and have spent nearly every day together since.

Matt proposed to me about six months after we got together. It was a complete surprise. I was directing a play at Belmont University for my senior theatre project. All of my friends and family members were in town for it, and so I expected Matt to ask me then. On Sunday when everyone had gone back home and my show had closed, I thought that Matt had decided to wait a little longer.  This was obviously not the weekend that I would get engaged. However, little did I know that Matt had something up his sleeve.

That night, at my sorority meeting, we began a white candle ceremony. This is a ritual that we perform in order for a sister to tell the sorority that she has gotten engaged. In this ritual, the lady who blows out a candle is the one engaged. Well, just as the candle came to me and I was about to pass it on, Matt walked into my sorority meeting. There in front of my entire sorority, Matt got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Or at least, he claims he asked. There were ninety girls screaming, so it was a bit hard to hear. Matt’s surprise was perfect way to propose to me! I love a production, and Matt nailed it perfectly!

Matt is my best friend! We have an absolute ball together. I have never met anyone who challenges and encourages me more than Matt. He supports me in everything, and is a complete joy to have around. I thank God for the blessing Matt has been in my life!

Title: Melissa & Eric

Date: September 24, 2011

Eric: Melissa and I met on June 7, 2004, at the ages of 16 and 15. We were both volunteering at Handycamp, a camp for adults with mental disabilities. She’d come up from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to Indiana, where I lived, to volunteer there with her church. When I met her, the first thought in my head was, “I’m going to marry this girl.” This was crazy, as we’d barely spoken yet, but I knew I was in love when I saw her interact with the campers- she was amazing.

Melissa: It’s hard to know when you’re 15, but I think I can honestly say that, from that first week I met him, I knew that Eric was an incredible person, and wanted him actively involved in my life, as much as was possible, in whatever capacity he could be. We tried dating long-distance through the remainder of high school- lots of letters, lots of phone calls, an occasional visit. That was made a whole lot easier (a relative term!) when I moved to Nashville a few months after we met. We tried our best not to let distance get in the way, but the realities of living so far apart were hard. Yet, every time we were around each other it confirmed what we already were feeling, even being physically apart for so long- we very much loved each other, and Eric and I felt like we were perfectly matched for each other.

Eric: We decided to stop being ridiculous, and just fully give into love the summer going into college. Our problem was that we were going to different universities: Ball State in Indiana, and Belmont in Nashville. During freshman year, Melissa and I would visit each other at least once a month, driving 6 hours and 347 miles just to see each other for a weekend. Through some budgeting and lots of figuring, I did transfer to Belmont. Finally, after 3 years, we were able to date like a normal couple.

The school year was wonderful, we wasted no time in spending time with each other, whether it was writing papers together or staying up late in the dorm lobby playing scrabble online. The school year was over quickly and I went off to intern at Handycamp back in Indianapolis. We got to see each other sparingly during the summer, and once I was back in Nashville for the school year, she jetted off to Australia to study abroad.

Melissa: Luckily we weren’t new to the long distance relationship, however we’d never tried it over dramatically different time zones or continents! The next few months consisted of late night and early morning Skype dates, where we’d catch each other up on the days and weeks occurrences.  For his birthday, Eric’s parents surprised him with tickets to visit me in Australia and we were thrilled! After I got back, the rest of junior year was a blur, and before we knew it, we were anticipating senior year and the life afterwards.

Eric: Upon our graduation from Belmont, Melissa was accepted to a Master’s of Marriage and Family Therapy program, and I got my dream job at Emma, a Nashville company. Shortly after these post-graduation plans were concrete, we knew it was finally time. I purchased the pear-shaped diamond she’d been imagining since middle school. The day before she turned 22, more than six years after we first met,  I proposed to her in a gazebo on Belmont’s campus where, 4 years prior, I promised her I would transfer and we would try to date normally. I wanted to finish that promise and start a new one that would last the rest of our lives.

Melissa: We’re so excited to make something we’ve wanted for years finally happen. We really are counting down the days until September 24, 2011!!

Title: Jessica & James

Date: June 11, 2011

James and I met in high school in 2005. When we first met I wasn’t even old enough to drive and still had braces. He was a senior assisting in my sophomore geometry class, and I remember noticing him the very first day of class. I was working on brain teasers in a group with my three best friends, and despite the fact that we didn’t need any help, we asked James to come over and give us some guidance.  I remember all of us giggling and being embarrassed as he walked away, and in hindsight it was the perfect introduction.

I was in my high school colorguard, so one Friday night after a football game I waited to go to the dance with my hair and make up still crazy from the performance.  As it turns out, James and I had some mutual friends and we started to talk that night before the dance.  I was so nervous I clung to the coke can I was holding the whole time with both hands.  After that night we exchanged numbers and got to know each other.  James had been planning to join the Navy before he met me, and had actually gone through MEPS the same day he asked me to be his girlfriend. He came to my house and met my father after a football game, and then held my hand outside and awkwardly asked me.

The next semester he somehow managed to become a teacher’s aide in my Spanish class, which meant I had to try harder to impress him and stay awake.  Just a month into our relationship he said he loved me, but I was a little more cautious.  On our three month anniversary, on Christmas, he took me to the Grand Ole Opry to see the Rockettes.  Outside the Opry I finally said “I love you.”  James decided against joining the Navy just before graduation, and decided to go Austin Peay’s engineering program.  At the time, I didn’t want to admit that he stayed for me, but now I am so grateful that he did.

After I graduated in 2008, I followed him to Austin Peay.  James has always stood by my side and has been the strongest motivating force in my life. I am so proud of him for always being someone I can look up to. We are in the process of buying a house, and James will be graduating in May.  And finally we will be married in June. We are both so excited for all of the amazing things happening in our lives.  I am so blessed to be marrying my best friend, and I cannot wait to see where our lives go from here.

Title: Ashley  & Ryan

Date: April 22, 2011

Four years ago I moved to Franklin, Tennessee to work at Christ Community Church as apart of their student ministry staff under the leadership of Eric Van Zee.

Four years ago Ryan ( Eric’s brother!!! ha ha!!) was serving our country as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army.

While working with Eric I heard a lot about Ryan over the years.  Ryan got deployed to Iraq a couple of years ago and I can remember Eric always asking us to pray for him together as a staff and even then I also found myself praying for Ryan on my own while he was overseas.

Ryan came back from Iraq in Spring of 2009 and when he got back came to visit his brother in Tennessee. Ryan and I met during this visit.  Soon after Ryan’s visit ,lots of my friends here began to think it would be a great idea for us to date! Little did I know all the jokes and scheming of everyone else would soon become a reality!

Ryan moved to Franklin that fall. We went to a Halloween party together and after that began to hang out on a more regular basis. We started dating in December of 2009 and dated for almost a year till we got engaged! Ryan and I were celebrating Thanksgiving with Eric, his wife Jenn, and their kids in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. After Thanksgiving lunch, Ryan suggested that we go for a drive through the National Park.

Ryan and I drove up to the  NewFound Gap and got out to walk around. We only stayed there for a few minutes when Ryan said we should ride around some more and look for another place to go for a walk. We drove around a few more minutes until we came to one of the look outs where there were no cars and decided to get out there and walk around at this particular look out. Ryan grabbed his back pack out of the car for us to go on this walk. ( When I saw that he brought his back pack along for the ride I thought something was up because why we would need that?)

We walked alongside a creek and found a place to sit down. It was only a few minutes into our time there when I  told Ryan I was cold, so he reached in his back pack and pulled out a blanket for us to sit on so we weren’t sitting on the cold ground. After he pulled out the blanket he told he had me a gift for me. He pulled out a chinese puzzle box and said that I had to figure it out to get my present. At this point, I just knew my ring was in that box! I also thought to myself ,I can’t believe he is making me work to get my ring!

Ryan helped me with the first move of the puzzle box ,but then wanted me to figure out the rest of it! I tried to figure it out but I couldn’t really do it, so Ryan helped me open the box. When the box opened I saw my ring inside it. Ryan then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I said YES!

Along with the ring, Ryan had gotten me another gift. The blanket that we were sitting on was monogrammed with our initials and he showed it to me after he proposed. It was a personal touch to our proposal!!

We left our little spot and drove to where I had cell service to call my family and friends. Ryan and I sat on the side of the road for two hours calling and texting people. When we got back to the cabin, Eric and Jenn hadus an engagement gift and we celebrated the exciting news with them!

Title: Katie & Amerson

Date: April 29, 2011

Katie and Amerson both started medical school at the University of Tennessee in the fall of 2007. However, it wasn’t until the fall of 2008 that they found each other. Amerson began flirting with Katie in neuroanatomy lab and Katie was won over by his charm and humor. Before long, neither one could remember what it was like before they were together. It just didn’t seem possible that they ever survived that way!

The next two years flew by in blur of laughs and good times. They supported each other through the second year of med school and the misery of studying for boards and then the hectic schedules of the clinical years. They were each other’s confidant. Everything seemed to mesh amazingly well and their chemistry and similarities were ironic. They found out that Amerson had been at Yale in the spring of 2003, the end of Katie’s freshman year, to begin his Habitat for Humanity bike ride across the country. On a trip to Ammo’s grandparents’ lakehouse, they realized that Katie’s grandmother’s lake lot was the one adjacent to theirs–it was the lot that Amerson had always ridden his bike and played on growing up since Katie’s family had never built on it. Katie had become best friends with Heather (bridesmaid) at the beginning of med school and did everything with her. It was perfect then when Ammo and Nathan, Heather’s husband, hit it off and became best buds as well. The two were clearly a match made in heaven.

Katie started wishing for a ring around their one year anniversary but didn’t expect one until spring 2010 or so. They had talked and agreed that they’d both like to get married before graduating and starting residency for the sake of sanity and time and so that Katie could have her name changed before getting her license. Spring came and went, and so did most of the summer.

On August 28, 2010, the couple came home from Louisville, where they were both doing a visiting rotation, to attend the wedding of one of Katie’s close friends, Carrie Conatser. That weekend, they went yard-sale-ing with Ammo’s parents and just hung around Murfreesboro. As the wedding drew closer, Ammo started saying he wasn’t feeling all that well. They still went to the wedding (which was beautiful ) and had a great time. Even though he kept saying he didn’t feel good, the two danced several times and stayed until the end of the reception. When it was time to go, Katie had plans to meet up with Stacy Hellums for drinks or just to hang out since she hadn’t seen her in a while. However, Ammo had other plans. He said he wanted to go straight home to Katie’s parents’ house and didn’t feel like going out, which was very unusual for him. Katie begged to just go see Stacy for a few minutes and say hello, but Ammo was determined to head home. Meanwhile, Stacy was texting Katie and backing out on their plans too, not responding to Katie’s texts or requests to meet up. If you know Katie, you can imagine she was pretty peeved at this point, to say the least. Little did she know that Ammo was behind it all, directing the show.

The closer the two got to Katie’s house, the madder she got. She hadn’t seen her friends from home in a long time and just wanted to stop for a few minutes!! Amerson was hearing none of it. They pulled into Katie’s driveway and proceeded to get out, or at least Ammo did. Katie was so ticked she just sat in the car for a bit. Amerson finally got her out but she was not a happy camper. She was bickering and snapping at his every comment. What a brat she was.

Inside, they found that the door at the top of the stairs was locked and so they had to go around the back of the house to get a spare key to the kitchen door. Katie told Amerson she wasn’t going to get it and she was going to sit right there while he went around and let her in. Amerson kept explaining he had no idea where the key was and she had to go with him. As they went outside and started around the back of the house, Katie kept calling him a baby and accused him of being scared of the dark which is why he couldn’t go alone.

They finally made it up onto the patio and Katie proceeded to try to get in the kitchen door. As she was fumbling to find the key, lights came on on the patio. All of the columns around the patio were wrapped in lights and Chinese lanterns hung from the ceiling. This actually kinda scared Katie because she was so shocked (she thought her parents were at a gospel singing and no one was home). She turned around and Ammo was down on one knee. As she looked to her right, she saw her two nephews and niece standing on the patio holding hands, dressed in t-shirts that spelled out “Will you marry me (please)??” She was so taken aback that she stuck her head in the kitchen door to hide herself and just began sobbing. Amerson kept calling her name until she turned around to look at him. At that time, all of her family and his family as well appeared on the patio (out of hiding!!) and watched as Amerson again repeated his proposal and Katie said yes (amongst many tears).

The rest of the night was spent eating all the wonderful food that Katie and Amerson’s moms had prepared, toasting the occasion, and celebrating with the ones they loved most.

Katie is just lucky Amerson didn’t back out before it all went down that night–which is what her Daddy said too! They all laughed at how mean/bratty she was being when all he was trying to do was PROPOSE! She’s a lucky girl to have found a guy to put up with her and still love her as much as he does. She adores him beyond words. He says it’s mutual.

And now on to the happily ever after…