It would sound nice, but it would be inaccurate to say that it was love at first sight for Isabella and me. When we met in the fall of 2022, I was in my first year of full-time ministry, and she was starting her junior year of college as a Biblical Studies major. Obviously, there are already some key similarities there, but for a while, we were just friends!

In December of 2022, we went on a mission trip to Houston, TX together, and there we each got to catch glimpses of each other's passion for ministry and heart for the nations, but still, just friends. For the next year, we would serve in ministry leadership together, helping lead a community group in our church centered around engaging college campuses with the gospel. In this time, we developed a deep respect for one another, and an appreciation for the other's presence, but still...just friends.

Finally, as the fall semester of 2023 rolled around, some things started to stir...

For years, people had told me, "Daniel, if you want to find a godly wife, stop looking for her and just run towards Jesus. Stick to that path, and keep your eyes on him. Then, one day, you may notice, out of the corner of your eye, someone running beside you. But don't worry about that. Keep running towards Jesus. Eventually, you may notice that this someone, a woman, is still there. She's still running. The two of you are keeping pace with one another. And you're focused on Jesus, and she's focused on Jesus. Something unexpected might start to happen. As you both get closer to Jesus, you find yourselves getting closer to each other as well. That's the girl you wanna marry."

Well, that advice held true. As I sought to pursue Christ, pursue serving the Church, and pursue seminary, I began to notice Isabella, always right there, out of the corner of my eye. As time passed, she just kept being there. I was challenged by her dedication. I was motivated by her passion. She spurred me on towards Christ, and I hope I did the same for her. Little by little, I began to wonder if maybe our paths were drawing closer together.

Finally, it was too obvious to ignore anymore. We were obviously drawn to one another, and it was silly to keep acting like we weren't. In November of 2023, I told her I was interested. Isabella was about to start her last semester of college, and given that she was a student in the college ministry I served, we agreed to wait to begin dating until her last semester was coming to a close. In the months between November and May, we got to know each other and spent time together intentionally, but with friends and in groups. We continued to establish a firm foundation of friendship before taking things to the next level. For that time, as difficult as the waiting was, I am grateful.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, we started dating. An interesting component of our story is that I had already told her I loved her before we even went on our first date! We had a few short weeks as a couple, but then Isabella was planning on spending her summer serving God and his people on mission in the Philippines. When I took her to Mentone, AL to drop her off for training, I said goodbye and walked to my car. As I sat down, I cried like a baby. Saying goodbye to her for 7 weeks, knowing we would have little to no contact, was one of the hardest things I had ever done. I knew I never wanted to do it again. That day, I knew without any doubt that I wanted to marry her.

After 7 long weeks, July came around and Isabella came back! She started working in the college ministry and started seminary as well. The month of August was a blur, but in that time, we got to serve side by side and see how fit we are to work as a team in ministry. We had discussed getting engaged sometime soon, but wanted to give it a little bit of time to see what normal rhythms as a couple would be like.

At the beginning of September, Isabella told me that she knew, and that she was ready to get engaged soon. I didn't waste any time. I had a ring in my pocket 3 days later. After another blur of busyness in school and in ministry, on October 17, 2024, at sunset in the mountains of North Georgia, I asked Isabella to marry me... and she said yes!!!

Now, we are planning and looking forward to the day when we will enter a covenant together before God and men. We are so excited to live our lives as husband and wife as a small, fleeting, and imperfect picture of Christ and his church. Our prayer for our wedding, for our lives, and for yours as well is that Christ would be magnified and that all the nations would come to know him as Lord!

D&I

Wedding Ceremony