Brandon and Mia came within feet of meeting each other on several occasions during their college careers. Yet it didn’t happen. Both lived in Ames, Iowa, during the summers of 2022 and 2023. Both regularly attended summer Salt at Cornerstone Church and various areas of town. However, God knew it wasn’t quite time for them to meet.

In May 2024, I (Brandon) moved to Iowa City, determined to get a fresh start after college. I was working at the University of Iowa and getting connected at Veritas Church. I met some of my best friends attending young adult ministry events where I played sand volleyball, went to local breweries and attended Veritas Summer picnics.

In late June, I noticed a girl at sand volleyball. I thought she was super cute, so I went and introduced myself. I tried to soak in as many details as I could, wanting to be able to talk to her again if she came back. However, she didn’t give me much to go on. The only thing she told me was that her job involved indexes. (What even are those??) With only that to go on, the flirting was painful, but I still tried. Over the next month, there were various attempts at flirting, but I didn’t want to come off too strong. Despite my best efforts, finding time to talk with Mia wasn't easy. I decided to just ask her out since it seemed like my only chance at getting to know her. However, she slowly stopped coming to events, so I was losing my chances to ask her out.

After talking with my best friend, Brenden, I promised him I would ask her out on a date the next time I saw her. I made this promise on the way to line dancing at Dancemor, and I wasn't expecting to see her since she said she wasn't coming that night. When I walked in and saw her, I immediately became nervous, but I knew what I had to do.

At first, I tried to dance next to her and found out she’s not very good at dancing. Luckily, there were pool tables, so I orchestrated a pool game with two friends who knew I was interested in her. I put them on the opposing team so she and I would be on the same team. Even though I did my best to make small talk and play a good game of pool, we still lost.

Since I hadn't found a good time to ask her on a date, I decided to leave at the same time as her to catch her in the parking lot. I nervously approached her and asked if she would be free for a date. Thankfully, Mia said "Sure" to a date the coming Sunday after church. I immediately started planning our date, settling on lunch and a walk as an ideal first date. I tried to call her to explain the plan, but she didn’t answer and texted me that she only had time for a one-hour walk. Nonetheless, I was excited and a little nervous that she might cancel.

After the walk, I thought the date went splendidly. (The date ended up lasting two hours!) We decided that we weren’t going to text since she was going on a trip, and I am horrible at texting. We agreed she would call me when she got back. However, two days later she texted me…..

Fast forward through more dates, lots of meals made at my apartment and daily FaceTimes at the end of the day, I knew I was falling for Mia. In November, Mia said yes to coming back to Northwest Iowa with me to meet my family. I was nervous as I knew some important opinions lay in wait. After the trip, I was ecstatic that the weekend went well. She made the car ride feel like nothing, and I loved how she just jumped right into getting to know my family. I was sooo happy to have her with me on our first trip. It was then that I decided that she was the one.

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Our story is a testament to God's perfect timing. We're in awe of how he has worked in our lives individually, and the timing with which he brought us together. We're excited to experience the rest of God's story for us and can't wait to celebrate with you!

B&M

Wedding Day!

5:00 PM–6:00 PM

Cocktail Hour

6:00 PM–10:00 PM

Reception