Our Story

Written By: Rebecca Elizabeth Dyer (Soon to be Mwemba)

Our story begins at Calvin College (now Calvin University) in the beautiful city of Grand Rapids, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon in French Class in the fall of 2009. Introductions were done in class, and John explained that, “there are too many guys named John at this school, you can call me ‘Jay’”. We had some laughs in that French class, and I gladly shared my notes with Jay whenever he forgot to take his own 😊 After French class, we went our separate ways but we both continued to follow one another via Instagram.

Fast forward to the fall of October 2021. Our dear friend (also a matchmaker, check her out!) Jane, was visiting me in Charlotte, NC, and asked if I was dating, and if not, what I thought about John Mwemba. I told her, “he was soooo cute in college! I had a secret crush on him in our French class!”. Immediately, Jane picks up her phone, call’s Jay, and in two seconds, we were on FaceTime! This call only lasted a minute or two as we were both excited (but came off as shy and a little embarrassed). Jay and I texted a few times over the next week, and then there was the phone call that started are future. If you ask him, he may tell you that it was a short 30-minute conversation, but I am pretty sure we were on the phone for 2-3 hours that first call. We talked, laughed and got to learn what had happened over the last years. Turns out… we were both single 😊

Our story has continued for the last 2 years (and guess what?! We are getting married!). Jay living in Detroit, MI and me living in Charlotte, NC was not going to deter us from seeing one another. From a distance, Jay would remind me of how he felt by sending flowers, love letters in the mail, and FaceTiming me, Asia (our dog) and Binx (our cat). We have made countless trips back and forth and even had the opportunity to bring Asia to Detroit! The memories we have made the last few years have only brought us closer together. We have been able to enjoy making memories with friends at the beach, going on a cruise with my family, spending the 4th of July in Grand Rapids with Jay’s family, hiking, traveling for races, cooking, dancing in the kitchen, trying new foods, laughing and crying with each other, and really just learning who each other are.

Our story bloomed on August 26, 2023, when Jay asked me to marry him. He had been so thoughtful about the proposal. Whenever Jay visits Charlotte, we take walks around Freedom Park, and this is where he wanted to make this memory. He contacted my best friends in Charlotte, and they not only filmed the entire proposal, but they were the first to congratulate us afterwards.

Over the last months, we have made necessary preparations for our lives together. This has included MANY FaceTime calls with MANY wedding details! Talks of colors, foods and music to be shared at our wedding. We’ve completed marriage counseling and have learned how to build and sustain a healthy and happy marriage… and now, it’s almost time for the big day!

Jay and I are so very excited to take this next step as we share our life together.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

Registry

While wedding gifts are not expected, we have created a registry for those who would like to celebrate with a gift!