Justin & Natalie first met through a mutual friend in high school when Justin was a senior and Natalie was a junior. They rode the school bus together which is where their friendship first began to form. They clicked almost instantly and regularly enjoyed lots of fun times with their group of friends.

On Natalie’s 18th birthday, they began dating on and off. It was hard to maintain a steady relationship with him away at college. Natalie stayed in the North Pittsburgh area working first in early childhood education and then transferring to a career in healthcare. Justin moved away to begin his career in biomedical photography. Not being active on social media, they lost touch in 2003, but they never stopped looking back on their relationship with fondness.

In November 2024, a cousin recommended to Natalie that she try to track Justin down, so she signed up for a Facebook account and was able to locate him in Arlington, VA. It only took one conversation thread through Messenger and Justin was on his way to see Natalie face-to-face in her hometown of Roanoke, VA. He visited in early December, and they spent that weekend catching up. The spark was still there!

Justin and Natalie were in constant communication via phone and text, and on December 31, 2024, Justin proposed! They found what we were looking for and didn’t want to waste any more time.

April 5th can’t come soon enough. They look forward to beginning to next chapter of their lives together in Roanoke.

They feel grateful to God for bringing them back together after all these years!

Photos