Wears Valley United Methodist Church

Wedding Day

Wedding

Bridgemont Camp & Outdoor Center

Reception

Our Wedding

Mike and I met on June 4, 2016 at Discipleship Focus. Mike and I had never met before, but he had met my whole family before meeting me because Mike was Caleb's (my younger brother) Younglife Leader. I got to know Mike over the summer through conversations and becoming best friends. Often times, I would see him up at the lodge reading his bible, and I would sit down and Mike would politely ask, "Hey can we hang out later? I am spending some time with God right now." This honestly caught me off guard. One time Mike did not say it as politely, but the next day as I was heading to work I noticed a note in my door handle and it was from Mike. (Notes are the gateway to my heart) Mike continued to love me as a sister through the summer. Always through our conversations and challenging each other to know Him better. Our friendship was founded through Him, which was just so special to me. Mike and I were both lifeguards at Splash Country during the summer. I would often times try my best to get on the same rotations as him so I could at some points see him and at least say hi. It was little encounters and encouragement that he gave me that honestly got me through the days at Splash. One day Mike invited me to go visit his family at their cabin. Mike is from Texas, and I just felt honored that he wanted me to go with him. On the drive down we talked, sang, and laughed. At one point, the rebel in me, leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. Mike immediately drew back. For the next 45 minutes, we discussed whether we should kiss or not and why. In that moment, I knew this guy was guarding my heart. Well we arrived at the cabin, and spent some time with his family and at the Ole Clinch on the River Restaurant. On the way back to Discipleship Focus, (Dennis and Shanna we apologize for breaking the rules) we riding in the car and made it to Sevierville. Mike looked at me, I looked at him and we had our first kiss at a stop light in his 1995 Chevrolet truck. With a week and a half let of DFO, I was nervous to see what would happen as Mike moved back in to Johnson University and I stayed at home. Once we left DFO, we hung out every single day. There was not a day go by for like 3 weeks that I did not see Mike. Our friendship just continued to blossom through the fall and on October 12, 2016 we went to DreamMore, where we spent many evenings during DFO having conversations near the campfire, and he asked me to be his girlfriend. It was not a rash decision for us. We spoke to many mentors and prayed about it a lot. I knew during that time that this was the guy I wanted to marry. Mike and I over the course of the holidays talked about marriage. In the month of March, my parents and him were acting funny so I knew something was up. Little did I know though the preparation Mike put into our engagement. On March 15th, 2017, I said yes to the guy I get to spend forever with.

Her Side:

Last summer, I decided to be involved with Young Life's Discipleship Focus in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. My goal for the summer was to become a better Young Life leader and to get away from school a family in order to take personally grow closer to God. From the onset, I set high expectations for myself – I would not use the time I had to run after girls and obey the very specific rules for the discipleship program not to be in "exclusive" relationships. Even so, I was hooked from the moment I saw Avonlea walking down the road the very first day and I knew my life would change for good. Over the summer I chose to obey the rules of non-dating at the risk of coming out of the program just as alone and single as I had started out before summer. Even though I desperately desired to chase after Avonlea with her outspokenness about her faith and her remarkable care for others, I wanted to walk away from that summer submitted and fully trusting in God. This ended up being the best decision I have ever made.I got used to seeing Avonlea around everywhere. We worked the same jobs and always seemed to have the same days off. Often times she would catch me reading late at night and we would carry on some personal conversations. I found my heart was oddly vulnerable whenever I was around her which led me to share the deepest parts of my life. All of these encounters led to a blossoming friendship in the context of an uplifting community. The summer drew to a close causing us to make a decision. She was now single like me (I like to think that it was inadvertently my doing as two guys had tried to woo her at the same time) and we felt an inexpressibly intimate connection to one another. Would we carry on the friendship we had developed? We both spent time in prayer and kept meeting with one another, growing closer to one another and to Jesus. Soon enough, I felt a conviction to take things further and commit to her with a level of serious I had never experienced before. After asking for her father's permission, I took Avonlea to the Dreammore Resort, walked her up an ivory white set of stairs and told her all that I wanted for us as we leaned over the top railing. From that October night our relationship officially began.Fast forward to winter, the conversation about marriage quickly sprung into a daily topic. The discussion never felt forced, but natural and enjoyable. We found ourselves dreaming about our futures and I noticed that as much as the idea of life-long commitment terrified me, I could not have wanted anything more than to spend the rest of my life with Avonlea. In February, I purchased a ring with my best friend, Jason, by my side and had the two most intimidating conversations I had ever had with her father about sweeping her daughter away into a new life with someone else. Finally, on March 15th, 2017, I coordinated a scavenger hunt that led her across the city of Knoxville, Tennessee that spelled out in bold letters: "MY LIFE WOULD BE COMPLETE, BUT SOMETHING'S MISSING." I stood at the end with a large sign with a "YOU" on the front and a "MARRY ME?" on the back.

Avonlea & Mike

Avonlea & Mike

Registry