Our Story

Our story began long before we met and is the culmination of a journey of faith and trust in a loving God and Father in Heaven who promises, “'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. '” — Jeremiah 29:11.

This promise was a lifeline for me (Piper) and though often tempted to believe it not to be true, I moved forward in faith, very frequently experiencing “dark night of the soul” moments, but daily prayed for the grace to trust in God’s will for my life and more so for the patience and courage to pursue it.

Through many years of uncertainty (Martin frequently refers to his experience of “40 years in the desert”), our faith in God and his love for us kept us afloat. His love and providence for us was demonstrated through the many kind, caring and faithful friends and family who carried us through our most trying days with emotional, spiritual and material support. Words cannot express the heartfelt gratitude we have for all of you! Every single one of you who are reading Our Story and celebrating this marriage with Martin and I were very intentionally placed in our lives for reasons that can only fully be known by God! Please know that each and every one of you are loved by us both, whether old friends or new, and those yet to come because we know that God has a plan for our lives and has placed us all here together for an incredible and amazing purpose!

Thank you all so much for your love and support as we celebrate our next chapter together – we have been blessed beyond measure! - Piper and Martin

The Deets

Martin and I connected on March 27, 2023 via Catholic Match, an online platform for Catholic singles. We very quickly realized we had a lot in common – both our daughters had played in the Mansfield Symphony Youth Orchestra and Martin had attended a retreat hosted by the current owners of my family’s Welty homestead! We both had a shared vision rooted in our Catholic faith and were looking to settle our “forever home” in Richland County somewhere in the vicinity of said homestead.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that Martin was a pretty cool dude, so I consented to meet him in person on April 22, 2023 at The Olde Jaol in Wooster (conveniently situated directly across from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office where I work – just in case!). All went very well so we planned to meet again on May 3, 2023 at Mohican State Park. It was snowing that day, but we had a great time hiking out to Lyon’s Falls where we took our first selfie and realized that there was most definitely a deep connection forming. The rest, as they say, is history!

Fast forward to July 4th, 2024 when Martin and I were lunching at Black Fork Bistro (one of our favorite haunts) and had a very business-like discussion about marriage (which we both knew was where we were headed) and decided to “get busy living” by exploring timelines and logistics. We settled on a wedding date and announced ourselves engaged! As of this writing, it has been more than two years since we first connected. There have been countless adventures that we’ve shared together with family and friends! We are so blessed and give thanks daily for the gift of each other, our family and all of you!

The Shawshank Trail

Mohican State Park

Ohio Amish Country

Mansfield Area Attractions

Pleasant Hill Lake