St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Bryn Du Mansion and Fieldhouse

Our Wedding

Gabe came to St. Francis in sixth grade, the year we combined all 35 sixth grade students into one class. We did not really mix friend groups until later in seventh and eighth grade. One random weekend in eight grade, I received a random text message from an unknown number. I soon came to find that it was Gabe and I was shocked he even had my number. We began to talk but I did not think much of it, I mean I was only 13. Flash forward a couple of weeks to spring break at the end of March 2011. I had just left town with my family heading to Washington D.C. for our spring break trip. Gabe and I were still texting just about everyday and my whole drive to D.C. Just as my family and I pulled into the parking lot to a restaurant for lunch, I received a text message that stopped me in my tracks. "So...will you be my girlfriend"- 13 year old Gabe I panicked and I could not believe the words on my screen of my Envy 3 phone. I told my whole family and waited about 15 minutes before I could muster up my response. "yes". I could barely eat at lunch because of my newly changed relationship status from 'single' to 'in a relationship' (Facebook official by the end of the day). I had no idea how big of an impact this one text message would have on my life.&nbsp; We had planned to go on our first official date when I got home later that week. We decided a movie was the best idea but picking which movie was another big deal. When the day finally came, I could not go alone. So I recruited my little brother and best friend to accompany us to help fight away the awkwardness. I think Gabe and I exchanged maybe a couple of sentences as we ate our pretzels in the food court. We finally made it to the movie theater (which meant I just had to sit next to him and not worry about conversing). Half way through the movie I got a text on my phone. IT WAS FROM GABE. I slowly opened and read the message. "I think we should hold hands". I had been preparing myself the whole week that he might just want to hold my hand during the movie and I was sooo nervous. But once I read the message there was no going back, he saw me read it and I could not ignore the message. So for the remainder of the movie we held hands, which I'm sure were sweaty and gross. The movie ended and my mom was there to pick me up, so we exchanged a quick goodbye and went on our way. Anxious to see each other back at school on Monday.&nbsp; We made is through the rest of eighth grade going to the Spring Formal dance together and sharing our first kiss on the bus on the way home from the eighth grade trip to Kalahari. We spent countless hours going back and fourth from each others houses driven around by our parents for years. We attended every high school dance together at Newark Catholic and learned how to drive Sophomore year. This was huge considering we lived 30 minutes away and I'm sure our parents were tired of driving us around every weekend. After high school graduation we both chose to attend Capital University for nursing and both have graduated with our BSNs. &nbsp; Eight years later we have been by each others side through much of our teenage years into our twenties. We have shared countless memories, adventures, and laughs together. We still look back at our 13 year old selves and laugh at our awkwardness and cringe-worthy moments. I would have never thought that my little eighth grade boyfriend was going to end being my husband 9 years later.&nbsp;

How We Met

December 31, 2017 seemed like any other normal day. I had no exciting plans for New Year's Eve which is no big shock. Gabe had suggested grabbing dinner that night, so I agreed. I picked him up at his house and we headed to the Cheesecake Factory at Easton. The restaurant was packed and we waited for a table to open. Dinner was delicious as always ! We headed back to Newark (again nothing seemed out of the ordinary). We took a drive around the downtown square to admire the Christmas lights. Then continued down Granville Street. Gabe insisted that we needed to park the car and get out at St. Francis church to see a statue that was recently vandalized and fixed by a family in the Parish. I though that this was a weird suggestion but I went along with it. We looked at the statue but there was not much to see there. He continued down the side walk, passing the car. I questioned what was going on but I followed behind. Gabe stopped a little down the sidewalk in front of the front door of the school attached to the church. He turned to face me and within a couple of seconds I found out what was going on and why we had to get out of the car in the darkness. Gabe started by telling me he did not what to be cheesy but this school is where we had met many years ago and began our relationship and it seemed fitting to take me back there. He dropped to one knew and pulled out a small box. Followed by four words... "Will you Marry Me?" By the time he popped the question, I figured out why all these weird events were happening leading to this moment and I was overwhelmed with so many emotions. I immediately said YES and jumped into his arms. We made it back to my car and I was still trying to process the whole event and admiring my new shiny ring. For the record, Gabe did a great job picking out the ring and keeping it a secret for a while. I was eager to rush home to show my family and see their reactions. No one knew that this was happening that evening and their joy and excitement were contagious. My mom was at work so we were able to FaceTime her to share the news. Next we headed off to Gabe's house to go to tell his family. We ended up watching the ball drop at midnight and celebrating what the new year of 2018 would bring!

The Proposal

Our Story

Details

Photos

Eli Morris

Kennedy is my baby sister, my mini-me and my built in life-long best friend. I could not imagine living life without her. Having a sister is really an amazing gift in life. I can’t wait for her to stand right&nbsp; by my side on this big day!

Kennedy Aikey

Dashon Shackleford

Best friends since birth! Taylor has been my side every step of the way. I'm pretty sure it was not a coincidence that our moms had us so close together! They knew we would be life long friends. I cannot wait to start another chapter of my life with Taylor along my side.&nbsp;

Taylor Frank

Kayla and I became friends in 6th grade and the rest is history. Kayla has been such an amazing and supportive friend for years! We have shared many memories from school field trips to vacations and my wedding is the next great adventure to come.&nbsp;

Kayla Thomsen

Brett Copeland

I met Steph the first day of stats class freshman year of college. We sat together at the same table because we were both blondes and so were the other two girls there. Steph has made it through every nursing exam and long night studying with me that nursing school has thrown at us. I am so happy that Capital brought us together!

Steph Scurlock

Hayden Walpole

I moved in with Brennah second semester of freshman year at Capital and we’ve been roommates ever since! Meeting each other was fate and it could not have been better timing. We have stayed up many late nights sharing stories and punny jokes together.&nbsp;

Brennah Hempleman

RJ Aikey

Aleah was my neighbor in our freshman dorms and has since become not only my roommate but one of my closest friends. Nursing school may have been challenging but having a friend by your side makes it better.&nbsp;

Aleah Llaneza

Stephen Collins

Carysnn is my youngest cousin and my Goddaughter. I am so excited to have her share in this big day with us!

Carysnn Meyer

Wedding Party

Q + A

Registry

Below is the online link to reserve your hotel room. https://www.marriott.com/events/start.mi?id=1602169817797&key=GRP

Courtney & Gabe

Courtney & Gabe

Travel

Courtyard by Marriott Newark Granville