How We Met

Not unlike any other Friday night in Bloomington, most of our friends were at Kilroy's to start off the night. After being at Basic training all summer, James was catching up with friends and Lambda brothers on the patio while Jen was just a few feet away hanging out with friends who she met working a marketing job in Bloomington that week. Almost immediately the friend groups collided due to one of Jen's new friends dating one of James' fraternity brothers. (Thanks Bridget and Carson!!) If this was a meet-cute, we would say it was love at first sight, but instead we'll tell you that one of James' friends (we won't mention him here, but we're sure it will come up at the wedding) was flirting pretty hard with Jen and to this day still says it could have been him instead of James. Luckily for James though, Jen only had eyes for him. They spent the night getting to know each other and bar hopping from Roy's to Brother's and then ending up at Sports where James was a gentleman and walked Jen's friend home for her even though he didn't want to (Jen likes to say that that is the moment that she knew that James was different than all of the other guys and James likes to say that that's how Jen knows that he really liked her). From that day on, they have been inseparable even when living in separate states and depending on sporadic weekend visits to see each other (James did an extra semester at IU while Jen was working in Chicago and then was stationed at Laughlin AFB for UPT for seven months while Jen was traveling for work in Dallas).

The Proposal

The proposal, or lack thereof, was spontaneous just like the rest of James and Jen's relationship. They had already been living together for a few months and had been talking about marriage quite a bit lately. Jen and James were actually in Albuquerque looking at houses for their next move courtesy of the US Air Force and James' pilot training schedule when James popped the question. James and Jen were sitting at a brewery (shockingly...) when they began to talk about the next steps in their lives. Being a little bit untraditional, the two talked about how they've already lived together, have two dog babies, and were getting ready to move across the country together again for the 3rd time since they started dating. The next step was of course to get married. James took about 10-15 minutes talking across the table about what he wants in the future and how much he loves Jen before he had her crying in public surrounded but a bunch of random people and a live punk rock band playing in the background. After James finished pouring out his feelings, Jen said "You know, this would be a really good time to ask me to marry you. James followed up with "I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
It was simple and sweet and not what either of them had ever imagined, but it was a perfect proposal nonetheless. They happily called both of their parents that night and shared the good news. Even sans-ring, everyone (including Jen) was overjoyed.

The Wedding


Now this is where some of you may get confused... James and Jen are already married. *pause for audible gasps and shocked looks* Having already waited almost two years since James commissioned and working through those two years with no spousal benefits or acknowledgment of Jen within the Air Force, James and Jen decided that they wanted to get "paper married" as soon as possible. With the puppies and all of their belongings in-tow, the couple made their way from Enterprise to Austin, Texas on 7/17 to stay with friends and enjoy a long weekend in a city they love before moving on to Albuquerque (Thanks Krista and Brett, we love you!). James' brother, Joe, also flew into town to join them late Friday night. James and Jen had planned a small ceremony that Saturday at the Texas State Capitol to get legally married. It was a sweltering 90 degrees at 11:15 AM when the couple said their vows, their "I Do's", and exchanged rings in front of the Capital with Joe, Krista, and Brett as witnesses. After a few quick photo-ops, the couple stayed true to themselves and went to an all-you-can eat brunch followed by a change of clothes and then Jester King Brewery that evening.


Again, it was nothing like either of them ever imagined, but it was perfect and marriage suited them well.

The Postponement

James and Jen made the difficult decision to post-pone their wedding due to COVID-19 risks. As much as they would have loved to celebrate their special day with all of their guests, they felt that a large gathering in August was too soon to impose such a risk on their loved ones. Out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety for their guests, they made the very difficult decision to cancel their wedding ceremony scheduled for August 1, 2020.

It was not an easy decision. They had poured our time and hearts into planning a memorable celebration for the past year and were devastated by the change of plans.

At this time, they hope to hold a more intimate celebration when conditions allow but planning another wedding will once again be difficult as they don’t even know where they will be living next year yet. They hope to celebrate with their guests one day, whether it is over Zoom or a casual round of drinks when this is all over. Until then, please stay safe and healthy.

The Not-Wedding

As James and Jen made the decision to postpone their August celebration for the health and safety of their guests, they now had a random day on the calendar that would always feel like their would-be-wedding day.

The had originally planned on celebrating in their backyard in Albuquerque with local friends, but James' squadron was surprised with a week off of work as a reward for the efforts they had all made over the prior few months.

James and Jen jumped on the opportunity and planned their first vacation in over two years. They packed up the Outback and the pups and they were off! They planned a National Parks Trip and spanned over 3,000 miles in six days! They started off in New Mexico, drove all the way up to Big Sky Montana, and came back down through Idaho and Nevada to make their way back to Albuquerque. They ended up visiting 6 National Parks (Great Sand Dunes, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Great Basin, Arches and Black Canyon) in 7 states (New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah) in 6 days!

The Wedding Take 2!!! (Or 3 maybe depending on how you count it??)



So now, this "wedding" is going to be the wedding that James and Jen have been dreaming of - a big celebration of their love surrounded by friends and family in a beautiful place with good food and even better drinks. So please, come join us and celebrate the life that we have built together and think forward to all of the moments we have ahead of us to add onto our story

Please keep in mind, that while we love littles in everyday life, our ceremony and reception will be adult-only events as we plan on partying extra hard for the 722 days we’ve had to wait for our celebration.