The short version is it’s a match making mission gone wrong. Dillon and I met at church one Sunday when my sister and I were competing to see who could get the most people to come to small group. Dillon showed up, and I thought he was cute and fun and perfect for one of my friends!!! So, when he asked me out multiple times I kindly said no. I thought the better friends we became, the better chance I would have of setting him up! He was persistent in his pursuit of me, and I was persistent in my original plans of match making. You now know the ending. If it was a competition, Dillon won through persistence and kindness and humor. I fell in love with Dillon Calhoun through witty texts, crazy coincidences, and love letters. I could write a book on the story of how God heard every teeny tiny detail in my prayers and answered them all in the most unexpected ways. Years ago, I scribbled in a random prayer journal about my future husband: “...and I hope he can play guitar.” And that’s only one example of the sweet reminder to be detailed in all my prayers. I can’t wait to marry my guitarist, and I can’t wait to share more of our love story details with you at our wedding! ✨

Our story is a story that I couldn’t have thought up or written as a novel. It was one of determination, chance, and persistence. I used to tell myself those things and how crazy it is that Ashley and I are together, but I am fully confident now that the only ingredient in our story is divine intervention.

What started as a church event at iron works park in Shelby, Alabama turned into a friendship that ignited a flame that was too smoldering for me to ignore. I knew Ashley was special and I felt a deep desire to figure out why. After getting to know each other through small group, I began my pursuit to know her fully, romantically. My first denial was a coffee date. “Maybe one weekend we can all go sometime!” She said. Obviously it was not my intention to corral the entire town to a coffee date. The second attempt was a long text that included me being extremely vulnerable and telling her how I felt. That didn’t go as planned either. “I wouldn't want to do anything right now that would jeopardize my friendship with you or either of our involvement in young adults.” Finally, I had almost given up. The Lord had other plans though.

After finally seeing each other at pickleball a few times and her figuring out that I wasn’t going to make things weird after rejection, she claims that her spark finally lit and we began pursuing each other. There are plenty of details in this story that are worth mentioning. Find out all about our love story on April 18th on a day full of love, laughter, and joy.