Intertwined Acres

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Reception

Fall

Our Wedding

Read below for answers to questions regarding our wedding. If you have any specific questions, please reach out.

Q + A

THE BEGINNING OF OUR HAPPILY EVER AFTER

The Lord began intertwining our stories together in the fall of 2023. There's a cultural stigma—thanks to the entertainment industry—about moms setting up their kids on dates. Well, consider us the poster children for every mom out there trying to play matchmaker! While I (Caroline) was in my junior year of college, I would frequently visit home and spend time with my family. Benji was getting his education online while working, living at home, and spending a lot of his time serving at church. One day in September 2023, my mom casually asked, “Do you remember meeting Mrs. Carmen?” I replied, “Well… no, not really.” That’s when she said, “Well, she has a son around your age. He’s really involved in the choir, always kind, and has such a great heart for the Lord. His name is Benji!” At the time, I was content in my singleness, seeing it as an opportunity the Lord had given me. So, after that conversation, I didn’t think much of it—partly because of my contentment and partly because I had no idea who Benji was. Looking back, though, we can see that the Lord was just beginning to write our story. Around that same time, Benji’s mom, Carmen, was telling him something similar: 'You know Mrs. Julie has a daughter named Caroline!' But, just like me, Benji wasn’t exactly interested. Neither of us were the type to pursue something just because of a name. But even when we had no idea what was unfolding, the Lord was already at work, writing a story far greater than we could have imagined. The next time I heard about Benji was also the first time I saw him in person. At our church’s Halloween event, a group of people had volunteered to dress as Disney characters for part of the event. Benji’s family—Carmen, Randolph, and Ariella—were in the same room as me, so Benji kept passing by to see them. I remember seeing him in his “Goose” outfit from Top Gun and immediately thinking how attractive he was. It wasn’t until that moment that I remembered my mom mentioning his name a month or two earlier. A few days later, I followed him on Instagram. Over the next month, Benji added me on Snapchat. At the time, I thought it was weird (and honestly, a little annoying) when guys tried to flirt over Snapchat. So, when he started sending snaps without saying anything, I hesitated. But sometime in November, he finally asked me to get coffee—and spoiler—I said yes! Now, we still laugh about this because, after asking, Benji waited over a month to actually set up our coffee date. I thought he had either changed his mind or completely forgotten. Then, Christmas rolled around, and since I was home for the holidays, we started seeing each other at church. We’d exchange awkward smiles and half-waves but never actually talked. That is, until his younger sister, Ariella, unintentionally sparked our first conversation. After church one Sunday, Ariella and I started chatting, and Benji– who had been lingering nearby– eventually joined in. That quick 5-10 minute conversation was the first time I really saw his personality. He was down-to-earth, easy to talk to, and not at all what I had expected. Walking away, I realized I wanted to know more about him. Later that day, as my family headed to McAlister’s for lunch, I had an idea. “Mom, why don’t you see what Mrs. Carmen and her family are doing for lunch?” I hesitated, knowing my mom would see right through me. But, it worked.The McNeely and Jaquez families ended up having a spontaneous Sunday lunch together– something that had never happened before. From January 3-5, 2024, we both attended Passion Conference with our church’s young adult group. We barely spoke, but we definitely noticed each other throughout the trip. In fact, the first picture we were ever in together was taken at Passion. Then, on January 7, we finally got that long-awaited coffee. We talked for almost three hours about our career goals, passions, hobbies, and most importantly, what the Lord had done in our lives. Walking away from that conversation, we both felt intrigued– we wanted to know more. And we knew we wanted to go on a real date. On January 19, 2024, we had our first official date: arcade games and dinner at a nearby burger place. (If you ask Benji, he’ll make fun of me for ordering a salad at the burger place– I was nervous and could barely eat!) We enjoyed our time together so much that we decided to hang out again… the next morning! We went to a flea market (which Benji had never been to), then explored a few more stores together. From the start, we could already see how much fun we had together—not just in what we did, but in the depth and ease of our conversations. After two weeks of spending time together, we both knew we had feelings for each other and wanted to be intentional about dating. We had conversations about what we were looking for in a relationship, how we wanted to honor the Lord, and our purpose behind dating. Everything aligned, and we were absolutely giddy as we became best friends. Then, on February 1, 2024, we had a date in Downtown Greenville. If you’ve ever been there, you know about the beautiful bridge overlooking the Reedy River. As we strolled across, Benji stopped halfway, turned to me, and asked me to be his girlfriend. It was such a sweet moment that I’ll cherish forever– one that marked the beginning of the most fun, God-serving, faith-growing, and love-filled year of our lives. On February 8th, 2025, Benji officially asked me to be his wife in the most special way. He planned an entire day of special moments and letters that involved friends and family. My sister-in-laws drove me to Hatcher Gardens where both my family and Benji’s family met me with white roses and a letter from Benji. After reading the letter, I walked down the path to see the man of my dreams ready to ask me to marry him. Now, we’re on an exciting journey toward marriage– ready to spend the rest of our lives loving each other endlessly and, of course, driving each other a little crazy along the way. We can’t wait for our wedding day, but even more than that, we’re excited for every day and year that follows!

Caroline & Benji

Caroline & Benji

C&B

Wedding Day