Most people wait till the altar to commit "for better or for worse." We just jumped straight to worse. We met in Madagascar, where every good romance begins. Two months of living in the jungle with a bunch of Malagasy who knew little to no English meant we got to learn a lot about one another in a very short period of time. Some days were rough, as Meredith came out of the forest soaking wet and cold, or Brandon emerged with a new onslaught of leeches. But we always enjoyed our times by the fire together, visiting nearby waterfalls, and harrowing journeys to the top of cell phone mountain to reconnect with our families and friends abroad.

Brandon had to leave Meredith alone in the forest when he was done with his research and wondered how Meredith would do on her own. Several months passed, and finally Meredith emerged from the rainforest and returned to civilization. Brandon seized the chance to Skype Meredith from her new luxury camping experience in South Africa, where we were able to move beyond a professional relationship and perhaps into something a bit more.

When Meredith finally returned home, Brandon moved to Virginia to begin his PhD, a mere 3 hours from Meredith's house. A plan was hatched, and we went on our first date to the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC. Meredith nearly died on several accounts (mountain bike crash, falling out of the raft, and facing her mother's wrath after losing one of her shoes...), but we pulled through together. Brandon ran off to Madagascar again, and Meredith plunged into the Amazon, but once again, technology kept us together from remote corners of the earth.

The next year, Meredith also began her PhD in Virginia, and the days of long distance dating were coming to an end. After dating for over a year (otherwise, what would we tell our kids?), we ventured to another waterfall together in beautiful Giles County, Virginia. Brandon got down on one knee and asked for Meredith's hand in marriage. After an awkward pause, she finally consented under the one condition that Brandon had asked for her dad's blessing. Having foreseen this obstacle, Brandon showed her photographic proof of that fateful meeting, and the rest is history!

We are so excited to be sharing this special day with you all as we come together to paint a picture of Christ's love and sacrifice for his Church. We hope that you'll join us in celebrating together!