I (Kimberly) was officiating a wedding of a dear friend that I had known for years in Moorefield West Virginia. The night before at the rehearsal dinner I noticed that one of his groomsmen (Kyle) wasn't there. When I asked about it, Dayton told me that Kyle had to work. "What a scrub!" I joked and we went on with the night. When the wedding party was getting ready I noticed the missing groomsman and was like "So you're the scrub that couldn't be bothered to come last night!" He smiled and gave some lame excuse about work.

For weddings of friends, I normally wear a suit for the wedding and change into a dress for the ceremony. As I was coming down the stairs after changing into my dress I looked out into the room for my folks and I saw Kyle, wide-eyed staring at me and slapping his friend and pointing. "Aww he thinks I'm cute" I thought and then quickly watched where I was walking because Lord knows I'm clumsy. As I got to the bottom of the stairs, to my surprise, Kyle was there smiling... "You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen! Will you please save me a dance?" Shocked, I laughed and said; "Maybe".

As the night went on he came to collect his dance, after shouting across the room a few times asking if I was enjoying myself. My mom smiled and commented that I had an admirer. We had our dance, and chatted about life. As the night winded down, he asked me for my phone number. I played the whole, *Let me get yours and I'm not gonna call* thing. Well, as I was taking his number down, someone asked me a question so I handed him my phone to finish putting in his information. unbeknownst to me, he texted himself from my phone a bunch of kissy face emojis. That evening I got a text, "Well this is a little forward for a preacher, but I think you're cute too!" I was cautious because there was a lot going on in his life at the time, so we became friends.

As life went on, we realized there was more than friendship there. He quickly became my best friend and someone I knew I wanted in my life.

But I knew I was going to marry him the night my mom passed. She had gotten covid and none of the treatments were working. The doctor called me in to give me the worst news of my life. I called Kyle and told him I needed him. He drove from West Virginia and was by my side. We prayed and cried all day. I went to the hospital to be with mom for a bit and came home to him consoling my dad. At the time of covid, you could FaceTime with your loved ones as they were in the hospital. Overwhelmed with emotions and exhaustion I asked him if he could talk to her for a little bit while I took a nap. I fell asleep to him singing to her and praying for her. She loved Kyle and he loved her. Over the next few days and weeks despite his own grief, he held me and did what he could to help my dad and I through the loss of not just my mom but my aunts.

On the other side of grief, we have been through some of life's hardest obstacles and we still choose to trust God and each other. He has become the man I've always prayed to marry and I have the privilege of not just his love, but my future step-daughter, who is a such a special gift to anyone who gets to meet her.

He was worth waiting for, and I can't wait to marry him!!