From Julia's perspective:

Before meeting last October, DP and I had never met! Although we went to McGill-Toolen at the same time, he was two years ahead of me and I was in the midst of my ugly phase. However, I definitely knew his name and knew that he was in seminary as everyone had told me, "oh he'll definitely be a priest." One day last October, one of our mutual friends said, "did you hear that we lost a seminarian? It's Donald Paul Maddox!," I immediately thought "I still have never met that guy that I've heard so much about!" After being invited to a friend's Halloween party, I decided to dress as a seminarian since a lot of our McGill friends would be in attendance, including some priests. When I arrived to the party, one of my friends was informing me of who had already arrived and she said DP's name. Immediately I thought "oh my gosh, I'm dressed like a seminarian and he just left seminary, he's going to think I'm so rude!" So, I immediately got back in the car and drove home to change my outfit, however now he says that I shouldn't have changed because he would've thought it was hilarious! When I arrived back to the party, I was introduced to DP in the kitchen and I immediately noticed how cute he was! Gabriella Dardard and her husband were in the kitchen with us and soon the party began to fill up. I told Gabriella to suggest that we move to the dinner table so that I could talk to DP more. We four moved to the dinner table and there we sat for the entire night, talking and dying laughing at one another. DP says that I was the first one to flirt, but in reality, it was definitely him :).

The following Monday, I was at daily Mass and lo-and-behold, DP was also there! I thought, "wow what a coincidence that he's here too!," and after Mass, I drove to Carpe Diem to do some work and immediately in walked DP right after me, I mean what were the odds! We talked for a while and then I left to go to class, thinking "wow that was a really great conversation, I wish we could've kept talking." A few days later, I received a text from a random number--it was DP! We then starting texting a bunch and learning everything about one another. Eventually, DP called me and asked me to dinner, where I proceeded to put him on mute and freak out! We went to dinner, and ever since that night, I knew that I couldn't imagine myself being with anyone else.

After hanging out every day for a straight week, DP eventually asked me to be his girlfriend after I said to him "so does this mean I'm your girlfriend?" and he still laughs about it to this day! Since our first date, we've grown incredibly close to not only one another, but to Christ as well. It was an incredible feeling to feel the love of Christ from the man that I knew I was meant to marry.

On July 30, DP and I went to Carpe so that I could do work, our normal Saturday routine. Eventually, DP started to get super antsy, asking me what St. Joseph Chapel would look like when it was overcast, telling me that he was hungry and that he was ready to go (something he never does). Eventually I got so irritated that I said "ok fine!” and slammed my computer shut and put everything away. As we were getting into the car, I asked if we were going to drive to St. Joseph Chapel to see how it looked when it was overcast and he said "yeah sure!". When we arrived, we began walking towards St. Joseph and I noticed that DP wasn't listening to what I was saying and began to wonder if something was wrong. As we got right in front of St. Joseph Chapel, DP grabbed my hand and got down on one knee! He said so many sweet things that I can't remember because I was wailing like a baby, but I clearly remember him saying, "Julia, will you marry me?". It was the most incredible day, filled with so much love and joy, and I cannot wait to start our lives together.

From DPs perspective:

Once I decided to leave seminary, I packed my things and came back to Mobile. I got an invitation from one of Julia and I's mutual friends to a Halloween party. In my usual fashion, I did not dress up. At the party, I saw Julia come in. I had never met her, never talked to her, nor had I ever really seen her. I knew who she was, as we had both attended McGill. While at the party, we began to chat and hangout with our two mutual friends. We ended up spending the rest of the party talking and laughing. At one point during our conversation, I heard that she was going to Mass at Corpus Christi. I decided that I was going to go to Mass the next day at Corpus. I ended up not going to the same Mass as Julia, but we passed each other on the way out as she was coming into the Church for the later Mass. As Julia likes to remind me, I completely ignored her. However, what really happened was I freaked out when I saw her and went complete introvert-mode.

The next few days we happened to run into each other at Mass and Carpe. However, what Julia didn't realize was that I was trying my hardest to run into her in as many places as I thought she would be. We talked a few times at Carpe and began to strike up a friendship. I began to scheme how I was going to get her number. I was in the process of interviewing for a job and I had told her about the job and about the interview process. In typical Julia fashion, she was completely invested in this and wanted to know every detail and every update. I, in my typical scheming fashion, used this to my advantage. I texted a mutual friend and asked for her number. I began the first text with an interview update. I like to think that Julia gasped and freaked out when she got that first text from me. Hearing it from her side, I think I was correct.

I called her and asked her on our first date, which was to The Royal Scam for dinner, the Art Walk, and ended the night on the rooftop of Greers St. Louis Market. I believe I can speak for both of us when I say that after the first date, we were all in.

I remember at some point a few weeks later thinking, I'm falling in love with this girl. I believe it was evident from both of our perspectives that we wanted to get married. Seminary has a keen way of teaching a man how to be a man, and how to discern. Once leaving seminary, I knew I was called to marriage and through quite crazy providential circumstances, it became clearer to both of us that the Lord was and had been leading us towards each other.

After asking both of her parents for permission to propose to Julia, I began the process of devising a plan. While everything did not go according to plan; I had to change the date and time a week before, it was perfect. It was perfect because it was natural and normal. It was everything I could have hoped it would be, and I wanted to make it everything Julia wanted.

I am incredibly thankful for all that has happened in my life. Seminary has prepared me to be a husband better than I could have imagined. I could not be more excited to marry and spend the rest of my life with Julia.