Alison has always said how deeply she's desired a relationship to form from a friendship first - and when Jeff Waldon first walked into Samayra Coffee Co back in February 2021., joining Evergreen Church's young adults' group, Ali could have no way of knowing just how much he would come to mean to her.


One of their friends invited Jeff to come out with them to eat after group, and the tradition continued every week after that. For the next few months, their friendship grew within the group - from late summer nights spent dancing in the Applebee's parking lot, to pool parties, game nights, and even a trip to the zoo, with Alison on crutches. When June rolled around and Jeff gifted Ali a couple of books for her birthday, she started to notice him in a new way. To her, though, they were still 'just friends,' of course. Always 'just friends' ;)

Somewhere between weekly dinners with the group, worship nights, trampolining, and trading books, 'hanging out' began to feel like something a lot more. The lines began to blur, and Alison started to realize - this punk who'd become a friend really meant a lot more to her. She really liked him. She'd even say yes to a date if he asked.

And he did.

By October, they'd gone on their first date - to Rutledge Corn Maze. But when Jeff pulled up to the Vincent house to pick Ali up for their first date, he'd already met with his first 'test.' Alison glanced out the window and ran out the front door when she saw Jeff getting out of his car... to her mother and her Uncle Keith standing in the driveway. They say the timing was simple coincidence, but Alison knew the pair of them had gotten a kick out of meeting Jeff right there. Fortunately, when Jeff opened the car door for her, he gained some points right away.

At the maze, Alison did her best to be herself - which meant cutting through the corn wherever she pleased and laughing as Jeff fought to keep up without breaking the rules. At one point, Alison scaled to the top of a bridge lookout and saw Jeff standing atop the other across the maze. Her phone rang, and she answered, taunting Jeff that he had two minutes to make it back to her or she'd run off again. It was perfect. Afterward, Jeff drove her through Eagan's for burgers and fries, which they took back to his apartment to finish the night off with dinner and a movie.

We read once - "You'll never truly know someone well enough to marry until you've seen them struggle financially, grieve a lost loved one, or witness them while they're sick."
In their dating relationship, Jeffrey and Alison saw it all - and it brought them closer together, even as many things around them seemed to be falling apart. In these times of heartache or frustration, Jeffrey and Alison learned how to be there for one another, work together, and through it all, continued to point one another to God. When Alison went through one of the darkest times in her life so far, heavy with grief, the way Jeff was always there for her helped her to be sure - this was the man she would marry.