I think most people would be surprised to find the groom writing the story portion of the wedding website. Maybe my faith in our audience is unfairly limited — or maybe I’m just as surprised as you are to find myself writing it. But with someone like Anna, telling our story is certainly not a hard task. That, and I think it’s fair to say we’ve never been big believers in some of the traditional norms of dating — which will probably be borne out in the following story. So without further preface, here’s a little bit about how we came to be getting married and why all of you are coming to Luray for something other than the Caverns.

I met Anna in Geotechnical Engineering 443, or as it’s affectionately known to its participants, “Dirt Class.” Anna, then starting her junior year at Messiah, was studiously focused on the coursework before her (at least at first). I, meanwhile, was firmly in the grip of senioritis — until a tall, beautiful brunette sat behind me and I started paying attention, albeit not to the lecture.

Over the course of the fall, we both worked hard, did our homework, and paid attention (most of the time). Anna, of course, learned much about foundations and soil mechanics. My studying was also beginning to be fruitful: I learned that the girl behind me was just as joyful and kind as she was beautiful — and most importantly, that she was single. I even managed to convince her that we should study together, though I’m not sure we ever got much actual studying done in those sessions.

Eventually, she caught the drift that I might not be particularly interested in the classification of silts and clays (in hindsight, it was probably the asking if she wanted to stay for dinner that gave it away), and before too long we started hanging out without the auspices of homework. Much to my surprise, we started dating that winter — even more surprising considering Anna had once declared her future husband would be at least 6’-2”. But what can I say — she came around, and I kept working toward my dream of fielding a championship-worthy Gates family volleyball team.

A lot of cooking, talking, ups and downs, horseback riding, road trips, and family introductions later, we had gotten to know each other much better and had decided to get married. Wanting to catch her by surprise, I proposed on my balcony a few months later during a visit to Richmond shortly after her graduation. She was completely caught off guard but happily said yes — though I did have to compete with a very intense cribbage setup for her attention.

At this point in the story, Anna — who is quite passionate about the game — normally stops to explain, but I will trust that all of you who are interested can research it. And that’s the (very) abbreviated story of how we, by God’s grace, came to know and love each other — and ultimately why we’re here now, about to get married and celebrate with all of you in Luray.

Looking forward to seeing and celebrating with all of you in March,

Benjamin