The Venue at Oakdale

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Winter

Our Wedding

“Love at First Sight” is probably the furthest thing from the truth when it comes to the story of Summer and Reuben. After all, what would you expect when “first sight” was their parents introducing them while they were still sporting diapers? Summer and Reuben's story began a little over 20 years ago in a neighborhood where the two grew up less than 2 miles apart. Being close family friends who went to church, school, and vacations together, naturally, Reuben's sisters became Summer's best friends and Summer's brother became Reuben's best friend. You would think this idea that they were meant for each other would cross their minds, right? Wrong. They grew up just like brother and sister. They fought, annoyed, wrestled, teased, and joked with each other just like any other sibling would. That being said, to think this was the case 100% of time wouldn't be entirely accurate. After some reflection, both later admitted to on and off crushes they had on the other growing up. The motive behind some of this behavior were just their childish attempts to flirt through name calling and competitive ping pong matches. However, any thought they had of having anything more was quickly shut down by the fear of how it would affect the families and relationships with the other's siblings/best friends. So, these intermittent crushes remained secrets and they carried on throughout grade school without mentioning a word. After graduation, they went their separate ways as they attended school and started work, figuring themselves out along the way. It wasn't until a few years later during Reuben's sister's/Summer's best friend's graduation when they reconnected. That night, a split second decision by Reuben was made to present Summer with what he coined at the time a “proposition” (a.k.a a date). Reuben most likely suffered from whiplash that night, poor guy. Just as quickly as Summer was to agree to the date, she was just as quick to change her mind and decline, stating they needed to see if a friendship apart from their siblings was even possible first. This experiment led to several secret “hang outs” to McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Sonic with the use of the airport's courtesy car as an incognito transit. After several of these secret hang outs, both decided it was time for an official date. One plane ride to the Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, Mo was all it took.&nbsp; Once news broke that Summer and Reuben were an item, the initial disbelief and shock was shortly followed by excitement and joy. After a little over a year of dating, Reuben surprised Summer on a girl's beach trip with the proposal of a lifetime. As they enthusiastically await their wedding date, they are filled with thankfulness and gratitude knowing their story was orchestrated by the Lord and in His timing. It didn’t take long for the two to grow a strong friendship and love for each other, sparked by the history they had growing up as kids.

Summer & Reuben

Summer & Reuben

S&R

Wedding Day