Wedding Day

Howell Bible Church 

Ceremony

Waldenwoods Banquet and Conference Center

Reception

Our Wedding

A little backstory in case you don’t know me, I am a California boy, but have moved around a little bit over the years. God brought my family from Santa Ana to San Diego, then Philadelphia, then back to Santa Ana before leading me to college in Arizona where I decided to stay after finding a great church and community there. I picked up a job while I was working on finishing college so I could afford to live on my own and pay for gas and food, but after I graduated, I struggled to find a job in my degree field. &nbsp;Amanda, on the other hand, had gotten her degree and found a great job here in Brighton shortly after graduating. This put her in the perfect spot for me to find her! &nbsp;After a year of looking and applying for jobs I found an opportunity in Michigan through a friend of mine from college, and after applying and landing an interview I got the job and started my move across the country! May of 2022, I accepted the job, and the first week of June I was in Michigan. Looking back on that time it is amazing to see how the Lord led me to school in Arizona, brought me through college, provided for me during the year after college before I was able to find an engineering job, and then provided the engineering job for me and the means to get me all the way across the country! Over the next couple months, I found a church, made some friends, and found a new community. At that time Amanda was at a different church, but soon the Lord would lead her to check out the church I had made my church home. &nbsp;One Sunday in August, Amanda came to my church with her sister and their friend. After the service, the friend I was sitting with introduced me to them and helped me through my awkwardness and fear of talking to them. Through that fall we only talked when we would see each other at church and Bible studies during the week. It wasn't until October that I finally got her number, and when I did, I had just missed her birthday. I didn’t even have the courage to ask her myself for her number, I had to accept help from a mutual friend who gave me her number and encouraged me to reach out. I’m really not proud of that, but I am grateful for the help and glad I actually took it. From the initial conversations I was able to have with her I found that she was the companionship I had been looking for. I was kind of lonely, but her friendship, humor, kindness, thoughtfulness and care was exactly what I needed. &nbsp;On November 14th I took Amanda for a little walk around the Mill Pond on her lunch break. In my hands when I went into her work to pick her up was a coffee and a single red rose. Too much? Maybe, but it worked! I stumbled over my words as I tried to tell her how I felt and what my intentions were, but I got it out, and I asked Amanda to be my girlfriend that day. Her answer was a resounding “yes, of course!” &nbsp;I call that our “first date”, but there was a “taco date” I took her on the week before I asked her to be my girlfriend. I call it a “taco date” and not our “first date” because I was still trying to get to know her before I wanted to ask her out on a “date” date. To get a chance to talk to her some more in person I invited her to meet me at my favorite local taco shop on my lunch break to get tacos with me. Talking with her and getting to know her that evening was amazing! We laughed and joked and told stories and could have done so for hours, but I had to get back to work. That night came to an end, but I was sure I wanted to keep getting to know this girl. From there we kept talking and then I planned to meet her during her lunch break where I asked her to be my girlfriend. A couple weeks later was Thanksgiving, to which I received an invite to join her whole family for Thanksgiving dinner. If you have ever been curious about how red my face can get, that night was the night that took the cake! I was so embarrassed, I am not one that enjoys the spotlight or attention at all, so the attention I got that night at dinner was too much for me, but I survived. Better yet, she still liked me after that and wanted to keep me around! &nbsp;With Thanksgiving in the books, we celebrated a few family birthdays and went on a couple trips to Frankenmuth and then picked out a Christmas tree. Our first Christmas together came early so we could celebrate together before my trip back to California. In the new year we spent a lot more time together. Went on a few more dates, went to a couple concerts, shared our first Valentine’s Day together, started studying the Bible together, and kept passing notes. Then in April Amanda got to come with me to California to meet my family. Watching Amanda with my family was amazing to me, she fit in perfectly with them and we had a great time exploring where I grew up and trying all my favorite food places. &nbsp;The California trip was the deciding factor, that was when I knew it was time to start ring shopping. I had known I wanted to marry her after a heart to heart we shared on one of our first dates, but I really wanted my family to meet her. Once they met her and loved her I knew that was it. With her family’s help I picked out the perfect diamond and planned out the perfect way to ask her. We may or may not have lied to her to get her prepared for the big day, but finally the big day came, and I was leaving work to get to the garden to finish setting up before she got there. The setup was perfect, the surprise was perfect, and the moment with her was perfect! After sharing a couple things from my heart, I went for it and dropped to my knee and asked her the all-important question. Her response is forever engrained in my memory because it was so genuine. First thing out of her mouth was “it’s so pretty!” Then just as quickly as I processed what she had just said and started laughing she caught herself and answered my question. She said yes! &nbsp;The rest of that day was a blur, we got to spend a few more minutes together where I played guitar and sang for her, but then it was off to the races to get in all the pictures we wanted to get and get to the dinner party with all the family. &nbsp;That brings us to today, we are counting down the days until the real big day! We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

A Rose and a Starbucks

Our Story

Photo Gallery

Julia Piehler

Nathan Emma

Maria Hollister

Josh Emma

Jess Hollister

Jeff Hollister

Meghan Barry

Matthew Bindon

Maddy Cook

Collin Cochran

Taylor Lak

Tim Milarch

Ella Hollister

Jack Hollister

Lilah Hollister

Emmie Hollister

Wedding Party

Q + A

Hampton Inn & Suites Howell

Residence Inn by Marriott Detroit Novi

Local Airport, Delta hub. About 45-55 minutes from the wedding venue

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)

Enterprise Rent-A-Car - (DTW)

Avis Car Rental - (DTW)

Budget Car Rental - (DTW)

Hertz Car Rental - (DTW)

National Car Rental - (DTW)

Alamo Rent A Car - (DTW)

Possibly cheaper alternative to Detroit airport, smaller airport, usually shorter wait times for security, 20-30 minutes from the wedding venue.

Amanda & Caleb

Amanda & Caleb

Photo Gallery