Bridal Shower

18 Oaks

Rehearsal Dinner

LOST MISSION WEDDINGS AND EVENTS

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Summer

Our Wedding

You know how they tell you that you'll meet your person when you aren't looking? It's true. I had recently decided not to go to college, and felt like the Lord was calling me to take a different route. I didn't necessarily know what I was going to do yet, but felt confident I needed to at least take a gap year. I still, however, wanted to meet new people and to try to at least get somewhat of a college experience, so I decided I would live in West Campus and just try to mingle with UT students. Susannah, my cousin, told me that Carson (her now fiancé) met all of his closest friends at Ignite, a 3 day camp for incoming UT students, designed to help them find Christian community in college. So, if you know me you wouldn't be surprised, I decided to sign up and just not mention I wasn't even a student.&nbsp;Fast forward to Ignite, it was exactly what I needed. I met so many great christian friends and felt confident going into my new chapter. I specifically tried to go into it not looking for a cute Christian boy, because that wasn't the point. I guess now reading this you know how that turned out. On the last night, Jud (who I had been eyeing already throughout camp), came up to a group I was talking with, and asked "do any of YOU need a dancing partner?," looking straight at me when he said "you." It was the scene from the Polar Express where the train captain said one of YOU will get the first gift of Christmas... exactly. So of course, I responded "I do" before anyone else could have the chance :).&nbsp;I couldn't believe he had just asked ME. I felt straight of a movie, it didn't feel real. I will never forget the euphoria I felt after first meeting Jud.After that night, we texted non-stop. Even the bus ride back to Austin, even though he was sitting 4 rows behind me. We couldn’t get enough of each other. It quickly went from talking about our music taste, to our perspective on dating around and the statistic that “the success of marriages after the age of 20 are no longer affected by age” (yes this is actually something Jud and I talked about on our FIRST DATE.. and I wouldn’t have it any other way). We realized so early on that we both had similar goals and aspirations to work hard and put the Lord first.&nbsp;Jud and I officially started dating on August 31st, right after school started. We think of our time getting to know each other in the early stages of dating as “dense.” We unapologetically spent as much time together as we could. I was working full time as a server at The Well and exploring different fields in the creative industry outside of my shifts, and Jud was a full time student and pledge for BYX (Christian fraternity… Brothers under christ). We made it work, though.&nbsp;We had briefly talked about how we were in it for the long run, and “could see us potentially getting married one day,” but it wasn’t until May 2024, when we expressed our confidence that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. It was the easiest decision I had ever made. In fact, it didn’t even feel like a “decision” at all. I’ve never had more fun with someone. Jud is truly my best friend, and I couldn’t have created a better man to be my husband in a computer simulation.After this, we prayed and had countless conversations with pastors, spiritual family members and friends we look up to, and even went through an 8 week program called Merge, designed to teach about biblical marriages for seriously dating or engaged couples. We had listened to a podcast about getting married young (thanks Uncle Keith), and were trying to decide timing on our decision to get married.&nbsp;After months of debating what to do, what was the most biblical, what God would want… we decided with the help of so much counsel that we should get married sooner rather than later, and we haven’t looked back! Jud and I know that our story is against what culture says to do, but we felt a strong push from the Lord to jump. We have a long journey ahead, and couldn’t more excited to be a witness to the gospel together! Judson I cannot wait to be your wife. I love you.

Her Perspective

My high school experience was great. I achieved, made great friends, and had fun while being deeply supported by a loving family. But after I graduated, I began to notice the hole in my heart that the world had not been able to fulfill. It was then that I began to really question and take serious my faith and what it truly meant to love Jesus. As college was about to start, I decided that I didn't want to go anywhere if He was not going before me. I decided I would take God up on His promise that I could ask and it would be given to me; seek and I would find; knock and the door would be opened to me. So, in the summer, I rushed B.Y.X. (Brothers Under Christ), and I signed up for a small Christian camp called Ignite thanks to some motivation from my soon-to-be fraternity brothers. Little did I know just how much my faith and life would unfold from that moment on. I met Eliza at Ignite by asking her to dance. The first thing I noticed about her was her curly hair and glowing eyes. I asked Ryan (my fraternity brother and now Best Man) if I should ask her to dance because he knew of her from high school, and his eyes lit up and spurted out something along the lines of "Bro-yes-dude she's perfect for you, I think she did track and likes to lift weights and stuff." A beautiful, curly-haired girl who "lifts weights and stuff" was a no brainer for me. I asked her to dance, and our connection was instant. I remember being so wrapped up in the moment, so exclusively present, and so stunned by the woman I was looking at. Eliza and I would go on our first date two weeks later, during which it is important to note that we talked about marriage (bold at the time, but extremely fitting now) and a plethora of topics that most people would describe as "intense things you should not talk about on a first date." But it was perfect for both of us. Our Faith, our desire to follow Christ, and our vision for our future were so unbelievably matched. I met her in August, and on October 30th, I journaled that I knew I loved her and that I felt strongly that she would be "the last person I'll ever date." I wrote, then and there, that I believed God had blessed me with my wife. However, we dated for a while longer before we really started to discuss marriage in any depth. Our process of dating was unbelievably sanctifying, as Eliza and I pushed each other to follow the Lord more and more. I was propelled to become a better man of God and a better man in all areas by Eliza's presence in my life. It was in our trip to Hilton Head in May the next year that we both confessed that we couldn't love anyone else. It was the easiest confession I have ever expressed. I had zero hesitation in my heart, and I knew we were to be married. The question was never about if, but when. We discussed, talked and prayed over and over again for several months about when we should get married. Our (but really my) problem was that I was still in college, and I was scared of what my friends and family might think of me if I chose to marry while in college. Culture has really shifted away from young marriage, and I was fearful of judgement. I was thinking of pleasing man and not God. I also wouldn't have an income of significance until I graduated, and I did not see how I could contribute to our marriage financially. The bottom line was that I wanted control and safety, and this decision did not seem to have that. But we knew what the biblical choice was. He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and Eliza and I knew we had found our mate in each other. The Bible speaks of marriage as a profound mystery that gives us insight into the love of Christ for His church. The Bible doesn't call us to seek financial security or individual fulfillment first. It calls us to surrender our life to the One who paid the ultimate penalty. It calls us to seek out righteous things and pursue them, and we believe marriage embodies the pursuit of service, love, and righteousness. In it, we are attempting to emulate Christ Himself. Eliza and I were being called to put God first in the way we ordered our lives and to lean and depend on Him as our provider, and not on our wealth, careers, or "experiences." After a long talk with Sam Soleyn, we decided to choose faith. We decided the most God honoring option in our life would be to get married sooner rather than later. We didn't have a complete plan, and there were so many immediate obstacles that we did not know how to navigate. But we decided to seek first the kingdom and depend on God to pave the way for us. And my goodness did He. So many obstacles, whether they were financial, emotional, relational, or just downright practical, were moved in the next few months. It was difficult, but so unbelievably rewarding and sanctifying. Eliza and I grew closer to God and learned to depend on Him as a unit, and he paved the way for our marriage. It was, and is, incredible. Eliza Kinder, I am so in love with you, and I cannot be more excited to jump in faith over and over again in all that we do as one. There is no one I would rather do life with. God has blessed me and grown me in so many ways through you, and I am so grateful.

His Perspective

Our Story

Venue

Photos

Sam Soleyn

Jenna Frias

Quinn Kinder

Ella Robertson

Susannah Bumstead

Audrey Askew

Harper Wolf

Ryan Spencer

Westin Herrell

John Michael

Chris Hill

Caleb Eby

Michael Davis

Quinn Shepherd

Zoe Shepherd

Scout Shepherd

Wedding Party

Q + A

The JW is approximately 20 min from Lost Mission.

JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa

Travel

The JW Hill Country Resort is about 20 min from the venue and has a golf course, lazy river, pools, slides, yard games, and a variety of restaurants. If you choose to stay here, there are many things to do for all ages.

Things to Do

Registry

Judson & Eliza

Judson & Eliza

J&E

Wedding Day