Summer Reception

4:30 PMARRIVAL | REFRESHMENTS 5:30 PMPRAY | GRAND ENTRANCE 7:00 PMGAMES | FELLOWSHIP 10:00 PMSEND OFF

Our Wedding

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP! I turn and look at the alarm. 3:49 a.m. July 4th, 2024. Wow this whole flying thing kind of sucks. Mom and I race to the airport, unload the car, tap our feet in TSA. 68 in the line ahead of us. We get through, rush to gate C18, and take off in a 747 which ascends to 40,000 ft flying at 558mph. There are a lot of numbers involved with travel, but I had no idea that I was about to meet the 1. Needless to say, I was pretty groggy once we finally got to Harrisburg. Mom and I crashed at Kara’s apartment and took reality warping naps. When I got up, Kara rushed us to the car and jerked us around the mess of one way Harrisburg streets. Multiple traffic violations occurred. We finally arrived at her friend’s pleasant pool party and things were pretty great. It was a really relaxed party and most importantly had a scrumptious spread. Brats, burgers, and all the fixins. Some time meandered by as I dipped my feet in the cool water and discovered my agenda of staring blankly at a wall, occasionally interrupted with small talk. Out of my peripheral vision, I spotted someone that ruined my staring contest with the wall. A smooth waltzing woman rocking a modest, but by no means unflattering, green one-piece walked through the rear gate. She was way cuter than the wall. Of course the instant follow up question was, “Ok but what’s this girl made of?” Suddenly, I was far less groggy. The mission was clear. When she noticed Kara and lit up with excitement, I was ecstatic. That was my in. Like a freshman with a canon for an arm, I sat on the bench while the varsity team (Kara and Mom) rattled her with questions. My mom is an efficient person, and somehow within a 5 minute conversation I discovered that this was indeed quite the woman. She owned her own business, had too many hobbies, loved the outdoors, and most importantly, she was very open and inquisitive about her relationship with Jesus. Like a merging car onto LA traffic I awaited my chance to enter the conversation. It didn’t come. Too much traffic. She wandered off. I waited patiently for my chance, and almost as if she was looking for conversation with strangers, she went to my side of the pool and sat by herself. Interesting. That is quite unusual behavior for a girl whose friends were on the other side of the pool. I resumed with the wall, who was quite encouraging during my internal pep talk.&nbsp; The wall and I decided on the most romantic topic I could think of to start a conversation with her. How to sell more cupholders. Oddly enough, I found it quite difficult to pivot from cupholders to a more personal topic. She was curiously involved in my question and began to strategize verbally how she would build a website for a 3D printing cupholder brand. I had backed myself into a corner of a very dreaded outcome. A professional relationship… If I asked her for her number after this conversation my intentions would be quite unclear. Unbeknownst to her, I really had zero plans for a website. Mwaahaha. I didn’t end up asking for a number. That was the end. I left the party disappointed. Especially when she invited Kara to go longboarding later in the week when we were leaving. She skateboards too!? I expected myself to move on and enjoy the rest of the weekend but it was nearly impossible. Mom and Kara realized pretty quickly that I was quite intrigued. My Mom learned a new zoomer word that I kept saying. “Rent free." She really was living rent free in my mind.&nbsp; After a few days of torture and weighing the cost, I figured an instagram voice memo was worth a shot. At that point I had axed insta dm’s from my dating efforts due to poor results and knowing that women want a man with a backbone, but I humbled myself enough to try. I was very clear that I was reaching out because she piqued my interest and I wanted to get to know her. After a few back and forths, I began to pursue her and learn everything I could about her. I started this story by describing her as “the one” but I want to explain what I mean by that compared to what the world means by that. Arianna is not the one because we have a really cool story or because I had butterflies the first time I saw her. That is all great, but it doesn’t make someone a life long match. Arianna has earned her spot as the one for me. As I committed myself to pursuing her for the past year, she was the one who pursued me back. As I held onto her in the midst of hard times, late nights of travel, and life’s challenges, she was the one who held on to me. At our lowest point so far, she was the one that said yes, I will keep dating you today even though the butterflies are gone. She’s the one who encourages, supports, and cheers for me. She’s the one who points me to Christ. That is what I mean by saying that I’ve found the one. A mentor in college told me that all you need to have a successful marriage is a commitment to Christ, and a commitment to each other. Commitment makes someone the one. Commitment leads to covenant. Thank you for coming to witness this covenant. Written by Dawson and not ChatGPT

One Random 4th of July...

Our Story

Photos

Wedding Party

Travel

Welcome to the Midwest, where Walmart is where you go to have fun!

Walmart Supercenter

Missouri Botanical Garden

Saint Louis Zoo

Things to Do

We're having a late summer garden party!Think Sunday church attire, with maybe a change of clothes if you want to participate in the games. (Volleyball, cornhole, etc)Arianna will be wearing her wedding dress for dinner &amp; Dawson will be in his suit, with a wardrobe change happening later in the evening for the games.

Dawson and Arianna

Dawson and Arianna

Dress Code

SEMI-FORMAL