Open Door Church

Our Special Day!

Wedding Ceremony

Wedding Reception

Our Wedding

She said “maybe”

His Story

It all kind of started when I “noticed” Pati at church during the summer. Covid had our church meeting outside and the way the sun shined on her while she was wearing a cute yellow sundress had me a little sprung. I waited a couple weeks to ask Pastor Dwayne and a couple others about her character. Then, on a beautiful Summer day (it was June 21st to be exact) she had parked beside my car and we “happened” to be going to our cars at the same time. As we were both getting into our cars, I asked her if she would be interested in getting coffee sometime. She responded with, “maybe…” I took it as no, but she messaged me the next day to tell me that she was actually interested. Because of my excitement, I almost gave myself a concussion from the impact of an overhead cabinet while working!   A week later, after a family fishing trip on my end and covid exposure on hers, we finally went to coffee. We talked for about an hour and a half, but our conversation was just so easy. I thought a second date was a sure thing. But I was wrong. I asked and gave her time, but after what felt like an eternity (eight days) she responded by saying that she just wanted to be friends. I could have died.   We actually became friends quickly and through the goading of some friends and our small group leaders she entertained the idea of us talking. Everything seemed to take more time than it really did, but by August 30th Pati sat down with me in our small group leaders’ backyard and she nervously told me that she would like to start “talking.” I was ecstatic!! We would be “talking” for two whole months before we started dating. Those two months allowed us to be open and honest before we really became committed to dating.   On my birthday, October 30th, we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner and then we went to Southeastern for a walk. While we walked, I very nervously brought up the topic of dating and she seemed interested. Then she responded, “Are you going to ask me or not?” I asked and she agreed and then we started dating from there!   After that we had about four months of bliss! In that time, we started declaring our love for each other and we grew together so fast that I decided I did not really want to wait. In February I did my research, bought a ring, talked to her dad, and proposed! Man, it was a great month! I proposed under a magnolia tree that canopies all the way to the ground with two of her friends there to be witnesses. It was a great time! Also, she was two and a half hours late, but if you know her then you would not be surprised. She definitely is worth the wait though!   Our time together has not been very long. But it has been full of so many laughs, a few tears, and so much love. I cannot imagine spending my life with anyone else! I love Pati with everything in my being and I pray that the Lord would lead us in a marriage that is devoted to Christ, who loves us more than we could ever love each other and saved us by his death and resurrection.

Her Story

Dakota asked me out in 2020 on Father’s Day. At that time, Open Door was having its services outside on the front lawn due to COVID. On that Sunday after the service, as I got close to my car, I heard Dakota ask “Hey, would you want to grab coffee sometime?” I nervously said “Hmm, maybe” and he told me to just let him know. I drove home with mixed feelings of nervousness and excitement. I called my friend Nicole and said “You won’t believe what just happened!!” Nicole replied with “Let me guess, someone asked you out?” I said “Yess!!! And I said maybe...” Nicole was pretty shocked.   I was nervous about going out on a date with Dakota because I didn’t really know him. All I really knew about him was that he went to Open Door and also attended Southeastern. After praying and asking advice from close friends, I decided to say yes. After all, it was just one date. I messaged Dakota on Facebook and let him know I would like to go get coffee with him sometime. We eventually went to coffee. At our first date, we talked for a long time and I enjoyed Dakota’s company, but I felt like I was just talking to a good friend.   When Dakota asked me on a second date it took me a while to decide. I didn’t know if I was interested in Dakota. I wrestled with it for a few days, but finally told him I preferred to just be friends. I was open to getting to know him in group settings, but not in hanging out alone. I also told him if he didn’t want to be friends, I understood. I wasn’t sure about my feelings so I didn’t want to lead him on. Dakota agreed to being friends.   I started seeing him around more often, or maybe I just noticed him more. We had short conversations when we saw each other. I really enjoyed talking to Dakota when we talked. I liked his authenticity and humor, and the way that I felt like I could be myself around him. I began to notice certain traits about Dakota that I really liked and over the course of about two months, I started to develop interest in him. I wasn’t sure how to let him know that I was interested in getting to know him as more than a friend, so sometime in August I decided to ask Dakota out on a date.   After that date, I thought we were on the same page. However, after talking to my small group leaders they told me that I needed to talk to him and clarify things. That next Sunday, I stumbled through my words and ended my thoughts by letting him know that I was interested in him. He told me he was still interested in me as well and that’s where our adventure began.   It probably took Dakota about a week after we started talking to decide he wanted to date me, but I told him I wanted to take things slow. Dakota continued to pursue me during the next two months. I could tell that he was committed. While I was also committed, I was afraid of moving on to the next step. Before we started dating, we had several conversations that were important to both of us and helped us to understand each other better. On October 30th, Dakota asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes!    In January 2021, I had several COVID exposures during which I had to quarantine. During that time, Dakota showed me how much he deeply cares for me. It was after that when I knew I wanted to marry him. In February 2021, Dakota asked me to marry him. Of course, I was super excited and said “yes!”. What I originally thought would just be one date has turned out to be more than I could have ever expected. Our relationship has helped my trust in the Lord grow. I am excited to see what the Lord has planned for us and what He will do through us!

Our Story

Dear family and friends, We know a lot of you are traveling from far away so we wanted to provide some options for places to stay in the Raleigh Area. You are welcome to look at other options since these are simply suggestions. We are super excited to see you on June 2nd!

Hyatt Raleigh North Hills

Hilton Raleigh North Hills

Courtyard by Marriott

Hampton Inn Raleigh-Capital Blvd.

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Raleigh

Candlewood Suites Raleigh Crabtree

Where to Stay

Visit our church on Sunday morning! ¡Visite nuestra iglesia el Domingo en la mañana! 9:00am Indoor Spanish Ministry Gathering (Reunion en Español) 9:00am Indoor Worship Service 11:00am Indoor Worship Service

This was where we had our first date. Aquí tuvimos nuestra primer cita. Open; Abierto Monday-Saturday; Lunes a Sábado: 7am-6pm Sunday; Domingo: 9am-5pm

Black & White Coffee Shop

Southeastern has a beautiful campus that we encourage you to check out, if you have the time. Southeastern tiene un campus hermoso que les recomendamos que visiten si tienen tiempo.

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Open; Abierto Sunday-Thursday; Domingo a Jueves: 9am-10pm Friday-Saturday; Viernes a Sábado: 9am-12pm

Morgan Street Hall

Open; Abierto Sunday-Monday; Domingo a Lunes: 10am-7pm

Pullen Park

Open; Abierto Tuesday-Sunday; Martes a Domingo: 10am-4pm Closed on Mondays; Cerrado los Lunes

Patricia + Dakota