Hello there! Rebekah made the terrible mistake of letting me create our wedding website! Which means that I get the honor of telling you all about our love story from beginning to the present! Strap in ladies and gentlemen and journey with me to the not so distant past as I recount to you the story of how we fell in love!!!

May 11th - We met for the first time at a "We The Kingdom" Concert and hit it off instantly. I had never met anyone who was so easy and comfortable to talk to, and I knew I had to get to know her better. We talked on the phone all week so that we could get to know each other.

May 17th - Our first date was at a local restaurant called "Biaggi's". Time lost all meaning as we got lost in conversation and before we knew it, the waiter was bringing us the check. Neither of us wanted the night to end, so we went to a worship service at a church that Rebekah had been invited to. We went from there to a local park where we sat and talked for hours.

May 18th - The very next day, we met up for another church service. After the service, we went back to her parent's house for dinner and games and I met her parents. They welcomed me in and immediately made me feel like family! I was shocked how friendly and open they were with a guy their daughter had just met. I soon learned that's just who they are. Their home has a genuine "open-door" policy and all are welcome. Dan and Jody truly embody the hospitality that God asks of His people.

May 29th - This was the day that I realized I wanted to marry Rebekah. 18 days was all it took for me to know she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. She has a sincerity and a passion for life that I had never encountered before. Being together doesn't always feel exciting like thunder and lightning. Instead, it feels like coming home. She makes me better and when I'm with her I feel safe, cared for, appreciated, seen, respected, needed, wanted, and truly accepted. 18 days was all it took; and if she wanted, I would have married her right then and there.

June 5th - Rebekah and I had a wonderful date night and when I dropped her off for the night, I asked her to be my girlfriend. We spent the evening talking about goals and long-term dreams for our lives. I not-so smoothly told her that I had one particular dream I wanted to discuss. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I even felt a little nauseous. I told her that I didn't need any longer to know how I felt about her. She asked me if there was a question I wanted to ask. I caught my breath and asked her, "Will you be my girlfriend." She gave me that adorable grin of hers and told me yes. I couldn't stop smiling for at least a week.

June 14th - Rebekah got to meet my parents over dinner at Cracker Barrel and after dinner was over, dad told me, "Don't mess this up! She's a good one." Both mom and dad fell in love with her that night, just like I had.

June 25th - For the past several months, Rebekah was looking at buying a home. She had narrowed it down to a few different houses and she asked me over the phone what my thoughts were on her purchasing a house. I told her that it would be a hard answer to give over the phone and quickly I drove to her apartment to finish the conversation in person. We sat on the couch together and I mustered all the courage that I had. I pulled my purity ring out of my pocket and told her that I wanted to give it to her as a promise ring. I wanted to marry her, but the time for me to propose was still far off. I wanted her to know my intentions. I intended to marry her, and I wanted there to be no confusion. She gladly accepted and we stayed up too late into the night talking and laughing loudly. This is a habit that we have not yet broken.

July 10th - We spent the day with Grandma Hagberg up in Rockford, Illinois and when we got home, Rebekah and I went back to her apartment to relax for the evening. We sat on the couch, and I asked her, "Can I say something crazy?" She looked deep into my eyes, listening intently to what I would say next. I leaned in close and told her, "I love you." She smiled from ear to ear and replied, "I love you too." This was the first time we had told one another that we loved each other.

August 3rd - I love the story of our first kiss! Rebekah was flying back from a two-week cruise in Norway, and I drove up to Chicago to pick her up. We met at the baggage claim and shared a corny movie moment in the airport. On the drive home, she was wrapped around my arm and didn't let go till we got back to her apartment. After we dropped her luggage in her room, we sat on the couch and held each other close. Suddenly, Rebekah looked at me with those giant green eyes and told me, "Kiss me. Seriously, kiss me." We shared our first kiss, and it was magical.

October 14th - Rebekah's dad certainly gave me a hard time when I asked for her hand. The day before, I was over for dinner and before I left, I asked Dan if we could talk the next day. He teased me saying that we could talk about my finances; knowing full well what I meant. This should have been my first clue that I was in for a stressfully comedic conversation. When I showed up, he directed me into the sunroom, and we sat down opposite one another. Before I could say anything, he told me, "I want you to know, my answer is definitively NO." My stomach dropped and I felt completely deflated. I thought that I had done a good job of showing them who I am and how much I love Rebekah. After he decided that I had been properly freaked out, he asked me, "Now, what question do you think you should ask to make that answer a good thing?" I had no clue what he meant or what he wanted me to say, so I just started telling him how much I love Rebekah and what I promised to do for her and how I would cherish her and love her as Christ loved the church. The whole time, he had the biggest smile I had ever seen from him. After I finished saying what I wanted to say he asked me, "What question do you think you should ask?" I asked him "Do I have permission to marry your daughter?" To which He replied, "You don't want my original answer to be for that question." Again, I could not understand what he wanted from me! I gave up and directly asked him what question he wanted me to ask because I didn't understand. Thankfully he relented and told me that I had his blessing without any reservations. He simply wanted to make the conversation memorable and was hoping that I would have picked up on the "clues" and ask him instead, "Is there any reason why I cannot marry your daughter?" This would have fit perfectly with his answer, "definitively NO". But I was too freaked out and nervous to do the mental gymnastics to figure that out.

December 20th - The day had finally come for me to propose. Months of planning and coordination had all led to this. All the preparation had been made and everyone knew their roles. I picked her up from her apartment at 3:00 and we drove to the local park by the elementary school, and I told her, "I know we agreed not to get each other gifts for Christmas, but I couldn't help myself. However! You are going to have to earn them!" I then gave her the first clue, leading her to Biaggi's where we had our first date. When we arrived, we got out of the car, and I handed her two gifts. The first was a necklace with a tiny picture of the two of us held inside a small piece of magnified glass. The second gift was a journal that I had been writing in since July. it is filled with love letters and my record of important moments in our relationship. I told her that I would keep writing in it throughout the years and she couldn't stop smiling. We returned to the car, and I gave her the second clue, which led us to Cross Pointe. When we got out of the car, I handed her the third gift, which is a framed picture of the two of us held within a jeweled frame. I chose Cross Pointe because of how much that congregation means to us and because that is where we will be getting married. Her final clue was a tough one. I didn't want her to get it so easily, but I did have to help her a little bit. The final clue led us to the Grossinger Arena, where we first met. My heart was pounding louder and louder as we got close, and I could barely breathe as we walked to the main entrance. I handed her a folded envelope and told her to open it. Inside was a three-page letter and poem that I had written to her which contained my proposal. Her eyes filled with tears as she read the letter and internalized my love and devotion for her. When she finished reading, I got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She barely let me finish asking the question before she enthusiastically answered that she would marry me! Our good friend Miranda captured the whole thing on camera and gave us some wonderful pictures to immortalize the moment. We returned to the car and as we sat down, I told her that I had one more surprise for her. We returned to her parents house where we were greeted by her parents and her brother who had returned from military service in Germany. They congratulated us and quickly told us to call my parents. (Dan's brilliant idea for this part of the night) We called my dad first, but his phone did not answer. We then called mom, and we soon heard the phone ringing in the other room. Rebekah's face was priceless!!! My entire family came out from around the corner as well as another of her brothers and her best friend. (The surprise went perfectly!!!) We celebrated all night with games, food, and lots of laughter. Things went more perfectly than I could have dreamed, and Rebekah loved every moment of it!

Well, that gets you pretty much caught up to the present! We are both excited for the road ahead of us as we start our life together! God has blessed us beyond measure, and we anxiously await all that He has planned. Thank you for visiting our website and sitting through our long and overly detailed love story. What can I say? I'm a romantic! We cannot wait to see all of you on August 30th when we join together in marriage!