Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding Day

First Bible Church

Ceremony

Burningtree Country Club

Reception

Our Wedding

HER SIDE:ㅤㅤㅤI first heard about Josiah a month before I met him from his best friend John at FBC’s High School summer camp. At dinner one night at camp, John asked me if I’d ever heard of Josiah Hereford. Immediately, my about-to-get-set-up-on-a-date alarm started going off, and I started dreading the conversation I was about to have. I told him I’d never heard of him, so John started to hype up Josiah and tell me all the amazing qualities that he has. He mentioned that Josiah was super plugged in with the Madison campus’s student ministry, was great with students, loves the Lord, teaches for them occasionally, and was just an overall great guy. He went on for about 5 minutes and ended it with “and I think he’s single!” I responded with “cool,” and John never brought it up to me again…ㅤㅤㅤA few weeks later, I had to reach out to John to ask about Madison campus chaperones for the middle school camp we take our students to (Crossings). John mentioned four names and one of them was Josiah. I was not super excited to hear this- not because I didn’t think he’d be a great guy, but because I thought that people would be trying to set us up the whole time and I was not about to go on another set-up date.ㅤㅤㅤBut when the bus pulled up to Madison campus that morning, I saw Josiah and my attitude towards this potential set-up changed real quick. He was cute! I was a little frustrated because now it was gonna be harder for me to act uninterested in any setting up that was bound to happen, but I was definitely dreading it a lot less:)ㅤㅤㅤJosiah and I sat near each other on the bus on the way up to camp but didn’t really talk much. He sat next to a student that only wanted to play the 20 Questions game and I very much enjoyed getting to overhear those conversations. Mine and Josiah’s first inside joke was from our shared hidden laughter when that student tried to convince Josiah that people in Brazil spoke Mexican…ㅤㅤㅤThroughout the week at camp, I very much grew to be interested in Josiah and wanted to be around him as often as I could. I noticed he was kind and patient with the students, laughed a lot (and was really cute when he did so), and went out of his way to serve others. I also noticed that he started to want to be around me too:) We intentionally went to a lot of the same activities together, sat near each other, and tried to be in as many conversations involving the other person as possible without being too obvious that we were interested in each other. The funny thing about the whole week at camp was that not a single person tried to set me up with him (besides Jacie- she saw that Josiah and I got the same ice cream flavor one night and she didn’t have enough self-control to not make a comment about it). There was no pressure from any of our friends, other leaders, or students to try and like each other- all of our interactions happened because we wanted to be around each other and were genuinely interested in each other.ㅤㅤㅤI love that our first meeting was at a student camp. We got to see a lot about the other person that we wouldn’t have been able to in any other setting. We got to see each other serve the Lord and others in a unique way- seeing how Josiah acted in and responded to a sleep-deprived, high-energy, week-long camp of middle schoolers showed a lot about his character, leadership, and patience. We got to see the other person interact with students in serious and silly ways- I got to see Josiah humbly destroy everyone in chess, Josiah got to see me shove a 12 year old girl to the ground in our beach volleyball game (it was Jacie, so it was okay), and we both had to perform in a lip-sync battle against each other that neither of us won. Like I said, we got to see parts of the other person that in a lot of relationships isn’t seen until later on, but I feel blessed that we were able to get to know each other in this unique way early on in our relationship.ㅤㅤㅤOn the bus ride back, we talked a whole lot more and we exchanged phone numbers somehow. I was so curious how he was going to ask me out while we were completely and constantly surrounded by 60 middle schoolers and realized that it probably wouldn’t happen while we were on the bus or at drop-off. But I was so confident that we would end up going on a date with each other once we got back that this didn’t really worry me. I knew he would ask eventually, somehow. When I got home, I immediately went to take a very long nap and when I woke up, I had a text from Josiah asking if I’d want to go get coffee that weekend:)ㅤㅤㅤMine and Josiah’s first date was July 19th at The Mallard coffee shop. This was the most excited I had been about a first date ever. I wasn’t nervous and stressed about it- I was genuinely so excited to get to know Josiah better and I had a lot of peace about the date. The date went so great! Conversation flowed so naturally and I loved every minute of it. And the coffee was great:) It ended up raining that morning so Josiah’s tennis plans got cancelled which meant we got to chat a lot longer which we both loved.ㅤㅤㅤWe went on several dates the next week- Monday dinner date to Mellow Mushroom, Friday lunch date to Thai Elephant, and then hiking on Saturday where we had a mini-DTR:) He met the fam that Saturday and I tried very hard to convince him to come to the Decatur campus for church the next day. He was hesitant because he thought it would be making a pretty big statement showing up to church together and he thought my dad might freak out, but I didn’t care and wanted him to come:) He came! We showed up wearing the same color and everyone thought we planned it but it was very much unintentional. I had to go to a wedding that afternoon and had previously declined the plus one they gave me, but I made a call and asked if it would be okay if I asked Josiah to come with me. So I asked Josiah to very last minute come to a wedding with me and he said yes! We had so much fun together. He got to meet and hang around a lot of my friends, and it was fun to be in that setting together. The next day, he officially asked me to be his girlfriend and I very much quickly said yes:)HIS SIDE:ㅤㅤㅤI met Audrey at a church camp in July of 2025. We were both chaperones. In the Lord's providence, I ended up on a bus seat close to Audrey on the way to camp, which allowed us to share some short but fun interactions during the 4 hour bus ride that started the spark. Over the next few days, I sought out subtle ways to talk to her, but it was challenging since she had a lot of responsibilities that week and because I get nervous around pretty girls. But by the end of camp, we had managed to have some good conversations, eventually talking for about an hour or so on the bus ride home. I was convinced I wanted to see her again, but I couldn't find the opportunity to ask her out. After all, we were surrounded by middle schoolers and I couldn't find the right moment. Ok, I got cold feet. But I sent her a text later that day asking if she wanted to get coffee, and by God's grace, she said yes!ㅤㅤㅤAs crazy of a first interaction as that was -- meeting Audrey at a camp with 500+ middle schoolers -- I wouldn't have it any other way. It's actually so fitting to me the more I think about it. Both Audrey and I have a passion for teaching students and watching them grow. And thus, as wild as camp life is, I never felt out of sorts that week. And when I saw Audrey each day, on 5 hours of sleep, with a hundred things on her mind, yet still wearing a huge smile and engaging with the students with the energy that she did, I was able to get some sense of her heart and her gifts within just four days of meeting her.ㅤㅤㅤSo a few days after camp ended, we went out to coffee for what was supposed to be about an hour or so. But my tennis plans got cancelled (thank you Lord!), and we ended up chatting for around 2 1/2 hours. We went on three more dates over the next week, and I got to meet her family. Then on Sunday, I get a text after church. Audrey tells me she's going to a wedding in a few hours and just made a couple phone calls to get a +1. She wants to know if I had any plans that afternoon. Well yes, I HAD some plans. Sorry John! I hope you had a fun birthday party! We went to the wedding together and it was great. I loved seeing Audrey interact with her friends and I began to understand the depth of the relationships she has built. But more than anything, I couldn't help but think how natural I felt around her. I had only known her for a little over two weeks and I felt like we were just so compatible together. The next day, I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes!

How We Met

ㅤㅤㅤBefore our church’s student winter retreat, we went to The Mallard coffee shop to hang out and have a sweet date before the crazy weekend we were about to have. When we walked in, there was a sign on the counter that said “Couples, ask us about our Valentine’s Day drawing class!” I don’t even think I waited a second before asking the barista what this class was about. She explained that near Valentine’s Day, they were going to have a class where couples would get canvases and draw each other for a fun date. And with coffee! I was immediately on board- I love drawing and coffee- and asked how to sign up. Josiah was so sweet and just went along with my excitement. They handed Josiah the owner’s phone number and said to reach out to her to book the class.ㅤㅤㅤA few days after we got back from the retreat, Josiah asked me if I had any plans for Valentine’s Day, which I thought was funny, because we were dating and he would be my only plans… Anyways, I told him that I had nothing planned but remembered the drawing class and asked if we could go to that. He thought that could be fun so he reached out to the owner and got us booked for the class on Friday, February 13th. I was so pumped. I literally told everyone I knew for the next two weeks that we were going to this drawing class, and every time I brought it up, Josiah acted like he was dreading it, because he didn’t think he would be a good drawer. But I would just tell him that it was gonna be a sweet, funny date.ㅤㅤㅤLater, Josiah told me quite nervously to not plan anything for that Saturday. And when I asked questions about it, he wouldn’t answer them fully. So all I knew about this date on Saturday was that it was dinner and I should wear a dress. Also, his mom was coming to town that weekend, and so was my brother (Nathan) and his girlfriend (Emma). All of that together made me pretty suspicious that he would propose sometime that weekend, but I didn’t know exactly when.ㅤㅤㅤThursday night, Nathan and Emma got into town and as Emma was about to leave to go home, I walked out of the room but could still hear the convos in the kitchen. My mom asked Emma if we would see her tomorrow and she responded with “No, I don’t think so! I’ll probably see y’all Saturday though.” When she said this, I was immediately convinced that Josiah would propose on Saturday because I knew that he would make sure Emma could be there. If I wasn’t going to see Emma on Friday, I was not getting proposed to on Friday.ㅤㅤㅤSo on Friday, the day of the drawing class, I was not suspicious of anything at all. That day, Josiah needed to work a little bit and study some for school, so we planned for him to pick me up around 2:30, drive to the lot our house is being built on, and then head to the drawing class. I was with mom a lot that morning- we went to Publix, made soup for a family at church, and just hung out. Joseph got home from work early that day and said it was because they ran out of a part for their assembly line. (Important info for later).ㅤㅤㅤWe left to go see our lot, and I think we both thought it would be more exciting than it was. It was just a field of dirt. So we stared at our dirt some and then walked around the neighborhood before turning around and staring at our dirt some more. Josiah mentioned he was a little hungry, so I suggested going to Mallard early to get a snack, but he wanted to go to Culver’s instead. We went inside to order and all we got was some fries to share. We decided to eat in the car and waste some time before the class… (This is when things started to get weird, but again, I was not suspicious at all because I was convinced he was proposing that day). I mentioned again that we could just show up to the class early to get some coffee and hang before the class but Josiah wanted to just wait and show up when the class started. So we played I Spy for 30 MINUTES in the Culver’s parking lot…ㅤㅤㅤI was eating up the fries while we played this very long game of I Spy, but Josiah ate only like 3 fries and acted like they were terrible. I told him several times there was nothing wrong with the fries but he just acted like they weren’t anything fantastic. A few minutes later, we had what I think is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had with Josiah. He stops our game of I Spy and says, “I’m so sorry but I have to go to the bathroom- fries make me have to pee.” WHAT??? I don’t know if he thought this was just going to be a casual statement that I would brush off, but I did not let him go to the bathroom until I figured out what in the world he was talking about. I immediately told him that was the weirdest thing he’d ever said and told him that that wasn’t a thing that happened. He then tried to convince me that he felt like it was normal for some foods to make you have to pee, but then I explained that french fries were not one of those foods.ㅤㅤㅤAnyways, once he got back from the bathroom, he finally agreed to head to Mallard but suggested taking a long way since we were still a little early. I know Decatur better than he does so I started telling him which way to go, but he kept pulling up the map to see how to get there. I told him I know a fun way to get there so he didn’t have to use his maps but he just kept using the maps! I asked him if he didn’t trust that I knew how to get there and then he put the maps down and started going the way I said- kinda… I told him once we got on a certain road that all he has to do to get to Mallard is go straight, and then he said “What if we turn right?” and then turned right! I was like, “...okay?” After this we almost got in a wreck because Josiah then became very determined to go see another coffee shop that I talk about all the time, but I told him we didn’t have enough time for it, almost got hit by a truck while Josiah changed his mind mid-turn, and then still turned in to the next entrance of the coffee shop!ㅤㅤㅤWe drove for the next 5 minutes in complete silence haha. Josiah asked what was wrong, and I just said “I don’t know, I just feel like I have to apologize for something…” He then very quickly said that the almost-wreck was his fault and that I didn’t do anything wrong, so then we were all good for pulling up to Mallard a minute later. I then started to get re-excited for this drawing class date and started asking Josiah a lot of questions about what he thought it would be like. We pull up to Mallard and I get out of the car with my purse and ugly water bottle, and Josiah kindly told me that I didn’t need to bring my water bottle because they would have drinks for us inside. (Didn’t think anything of it). When we got to the front of the shop, I could see that they decorated all cutesy for Valentine’s Day and made some comment about it being cute.ㅤㅤㅤWhen we opened the door, I immediately knew it wasn’t a drawing class. A sign hung up that said “Josiah and Audrey”, there was only one big table set up with flowers and candles all over the place, and my favorite song was playing over the speaker. I quickly knew that this was the proposal and it was a complete surprise. Josiah walked me through three different tables reading Scripture at each one. (I remember the first two conversations, but when we got to the last table I think I blacked out for a little bit). At some point he turned me away from him and I got to see out the window of Mallard and all of his family and all of my family (even Emma) were outside watching it all happen. I got so excited. He got down on his knee and proposed!!! It was the sweetest, most thoughtful proposal I could have ever dreamed of.ㅤㅤㅤAfter the proposal, we had a little engagement party at my Nana and Pops’s house where even more family came to eat dinner with us and celebrate. I got to hear about all the details and plans that went on without me knowing and everyone revealed all the lies they told me the past few weeks. Josiah never went to work or studied that day, Emma lied to my mother’s face in case I was overhearing their conversation, Mom and I didn’t actually make a soup for a family at church (it was for the engagement party), Joseph’s job didn’t actually run out of that part to send him home early. Josiah was acting weird about driving to Mallard because he didn't want us to accidentally drive past where all our family was parked for the proposal, and fries don't actually make him have to pee, he was just a little nervy haha. Josiah also intentionally planned to act weird about our date on Saturday so that I would be more suspicious of him proposing then- it worked. We got to laugh afterwards about our conversation at Culver’s, the I Spy game, and our almost-fight two minutes before the proposal. It was the sweetest day and the Lord was so kind and fun to let it be as surprising and special as it was!ㅤㅤㅤWe are filled with gratitude for the Lord as we eagerly anticipate the day we become husband and wife: 09.05.2026

Audrey & Josiah

Audrey & Josiah

A&J