THE MEET

January 29, 2023

Jenn's version:

I was keeping a friend company while her husband was at an Eagles game, and we headed over to her in-laws to hang out for a while. They had just hosted some friends to watch the game themselves, and suggested that I might be interested in meeting a mutual friend that they were discussing that night. They warned me: he has a lot of tattoos, three kids from a former marriage and he talks A LOT. I said it was ok to give him my number, and in a matter of hours, I had a text from Carl. Little did I know, it was his birthday.

Carl:

I had spent the day seeking the Lord and praying as I waited to celebrate my birthday with my kids later that night. When they came home, we ate pizza and then they lit the candles on the cake. I always made the same wish every year, and it was more like a prayer that my kids would be blessed and saved, but this year I felt an impression to change it up. My prayer was that God would bring me my Godly wife. My oldest son was videoing me as I blew out the candles and commented that something felt different about that wish. In a matter of minutes, we were getting ready to settle in to watch a movie and my daughter noted that I had missed a call from a friend of mine. When I called him back, he mentioned a girl he thought I should contact. I wasted no time.

THE FIRST DATE

January 31, 2023

Jenn:

It did not by any means seem like a match made in heaven. At the end of the date, I dragged Carl along to show a house to my friend who was interested in buying and I introduced him as a contractor who could potentially tear down a wall in the kitchen. Understandably, he was not impressed that I took him to work with me, and especially when I dragged him back to my office to write an offer. Let's just say he was visibly happy to say goodbye after the date; but later when my clients won the offer on the house, he was enlisted to finish the job... so our story wasn't quite over.

Carl:

The next morning, I was still trying to figure out what this girl was thinking dragging me around. My mother asked me how the date went and I was quick to answer: "sorry for wearing out your knees, but she's not the one." She paused for a minute and responded, "no, I believe she is the one". My mother is a praying woman, and it was enough to make rethink that I should at least give the time to see what this woman was about.

THE WALK THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

February 13, 2023

Jenn: We talked on and off for a couple of weeks, but I still was not interested. I thought he had a lot of growing up to do and had no idea how to pursue a Christian woman. I thought I could at least help the guy out, and hopefully he wouldn't make the same mistakes with someone else! I invited him to walk with me on my favorite river trail in Marietta, PA, which also happens to be his hometown. It was a long 3 hour walk, and I finally got the opportunity to see beyond the surface. It was the first time we really connected, and from then on, it seemed we had something to build on.

J&C

Wedding Day

4:30 PM–5:00 PM

Ceremony

5:00 PM–6:00 PM

Cocktail Hour

6:00 PM–10:30 PM

Reception