The short story is that we matched on a dating app in July 2022 and had our first date over cocktails at Vitae Distillery on July 27. Julia remembers noticing Chris’ tattoo, but not wanting to draw attention to it, and that he brought up the Bible in conversation. Chris remembers recognizing that Julia was quiet but smart and that he was nervous because he saw potential in dating.

Julia was hopeful for a second date and excited that Chris texted her later that night. They quickly started seeing each other once or twice a week and Julia really got excited when Chris asked her on two dates in the same weekend!

The longer story goes back a few years before. Julia moved to Charlottesville in 2018 on the launch team for a new church plant. Still searching for the perfect job, she found herself working for a materials science research company. It was exciting to have her first full time job, but it turned out to be really boring. She spent her days wondering what could be next and why she was in that role. Her friends were excited she had found something, joking maybe she’d meet her husband there, but Julia shot that down quickly.

After graduating from UVA, Chris stayed in the area and started his own business doing manufacturing engineering. He was contracted to machine some parts to be used as prototypes and delivered them to the customer. The customer wasn’t there, but Julia was, and she directed Chris to where he could drop them off. It’s a faint memory that Julia remembers because they never had visitors at that company and Chris remembers probably because Julia was the only female at the company. The time was definitely not right for either of them, but it’s a fun precursor to our official meeting a few years after. It turns out, her friends were right. Julia technically met her husband at that job and is satisfied that one purpose of that time was to have this unique story.

We are excited to turn our first date anniversary into our wedding anniversary this July 27, 2024 and celebrate it with you!

When Chris knew he was ready to propose to Julia, he knew he’d have to be creative so that Julia wouldn’t see it coming. After some consideration, he decided that he would propose to Julia at Loving Cup Winery - a winery just minutes away from his house that they had been to multiple times before. Loving Cup had become a special place for Chris and Julia because they participated in the Wine Club Work Days where members can volunteer their time to work in the vineyard during the labor intensive grape season. This quickly became a place for Chris and Julia to spend quality time and learn about their common interest so Chris thought a Loving Cup work day would be perfect for a surprise proposal. After coordinating with the owner of the winery and a photographer, Chris brought Julia to what she thought was a normal work day. Julia was somewhat suspicious, but after seeing 10 other people show up to also participate, she dropped her suspicions. Chris and Julia were conveniently assigned to remove nets from the vines and once Chris received word from the photographer that they were in position, Chris got down on one knee and asked Julia to be his wife. She quickly said yes! Julia continued to be suspicious the rest of the day, which was reasonable since Chris tricked her to going to Three Notch’d where many of their local friends were waiting to celebrate. Possibly an even bigger surprise than the proposal, was the dinner a week later. Julia’s mom and step-dad were in town for the weekend (planned well ahead of the proposal happening). When they arrived to their dinner reservation, the rest of both Chris’ and Julia’s families were there! It was an incredibly special time and just a taste of the celebration to come on our wedding day!