Joe and Taryn met at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in the fall of 2019. It was Joe's junior year of college and Taryn's freshman year. The beginnings of Joe and Taryn's love story is nothing out of a fairy tale, but a tale packed with determination and a call home. Enjoy Taryn's remembrance of this portion of their relationship.

"It was the fall of my freshman year. As any new student, I got to experience the New Student Institution. These 3 days were packed full of events and information to get new students acquainted with college life and the university. One of the events was the COSMO fair where students could join student clubs. A particular club stood out to me, PB&J club. I walked up to the table and said hello to one of their leaders. He simply looked at me and blandly said, “Hi” and proceeded to say nothing else. My brain immediately determined that this person was rude due to their demeanor and tone of voice. What I didn’t know was this person was going to be the love of my life, my future husband, Joseph Comparette. From then on, anytime I saw Joe, I remembered him as the rude guy from PB&J club. I ran into him a lot during my first few weeks of school. I saw him in symphonic wind ensemble, pep band, walking to class, and even at church! I couldn’t get this guy out of my sight or out of my mind. When I would look at him, I began to have these warm fuzzy feelings inside and my heart would be filled with butterflies. Each day, my feelings grew stronger and stronger, and Joe was no longer rude in my eyes, but charming. I began telling my friends about this crush I had and they encouraged me to explore these newfound feelings. I have a specific memory of me walking to class one day. I enjoyed listening to music in the mornings as I explored our campus. On my way, an instrumental version of “Some Day My Prince Will Come” from Disney’s Snow White came on. As I looked up from the ground, there was Joe. From that moment forward, I knew that it was destiny. The first time I got to have a conversation with Joe was during my first band retreat. Our band assistants had coordinated the seating. Each seat had a card which said something different, for example, “Sit here if you are wearing blue.” I knew I had to be crafty if I wanted Joe to end up sitting by me. I walked over to a table and saw two place cards. One read, “Sit hear if you are wearing a T-shirt (which I was)”, and the other one said, “Sit here if you have blue eyes.” I knew instantly that Joe wouldn’t be able to sit in the T-shirt seat because he always wears polos (he still does to this very day)! I also remembered that he had nice blue eyes. I sat down and hoped for the best. I watched Joe enter the room in anticipation, he walked around, looked at the seat beside me, and sat down. I was elated! I was too shy to talk to him at first, but the first thing he said to me, which if you know Joe, this question is a big deal. He asked me, “What is your favorite cereal?” I immediately panicked because I don’t normally eat cereal. Luckily I picked a satisfactory answer, Captain Crunch. After the retreat, we had a concert in October. One of my friends at the time was very enthusiastic about us getting together. So much so, she let me know that she was going to tell him at the concert that I liked him. I was so nervous, but I was ready to finally find out if he felt the same. His response was somewhat confusing. All Joe had said to her when she asked was, “I figured.” and nothing else. All I got was a smile when he walked passed me. I thought our relationship was doomed. Little did I know, Joe did feel the same way, but just didn’t know how to express it. We ended up going to a dinner with a group of friends to get more acquainted, after the dinner was over he proceeded to talk to me for two more hours! I found out more about Joe’s caring nature and his humor. I was very fond of him, so much so, I texted him and asked if he would be going to MVNU’s Halloween party. He simply replied, “I am planning on it.” At the party, I passed by him several times and he didn’t engage with me. I noticed that he was quite the wallflower and that I would have to be the one to initiate conversation. I am happy that I did because we ended up spending the rest of the night together talking. I even went back to the school with him and helped him study for one of his tests in the PSU. Joe was a gentleman and walked me back to Pioneer’s parking lot. It was snowing and so peaceful outside. We stood at my car and said our goodbyes. All of a sudden Joe kissed me on the cheek and walked away. I was lovestruck! I was so excited for the future of our relationship. The next day left me questioning and most people I talk to have found this part to be quite humorous. The next day I walked up to Joe after wind ensemble and asked what he was doing. He said to me in a hurried manner, “I am going to go take a nap in my apartment,” and proceeded to quickly walk away. I was heartbroken to say the least. I figured he had thought about it overnight and lost interest in me. I saw him at pep band, but he didn’t say a word to me. It was late when the game ended and I had volunteered to go back to the chapel to help unload our equipment. I had walked down to the arena, so I had to walk back. My professor told Joe to walk with me since it was dark. Joe walked with me for a total of 10 seconds before he sprinted off stating he had to stop at his apartment. I was fuming! After I had made it to the chapel, I noticed Joe had arrived just before me. I walked up and asked him again if he was doing anything. He said I could come to the PSU with him if I wanted to. We walked over there and talked for awhile. He then walked me back to my car. The next day I was going to help with one of the concerts at MVNU. I asked Joe for his number so I could text him about it, in case he’d like to come help out. He said,”I guess you can have my number.” I was so over it by this point. I got in my car and he had walked away. I sat in my freezing car for 15 minutes and I finally decided that we were going to have a conversation about all this. I tried calling and texting him, he did not reply. I walked into Pio and went to see one of my friends. I filled her in on the matter and spent 10 minutes laying on her floor crying, when I noticed he had called me back and left a voicemail. He said he was coming back to my car! I ran outside and sure enough, he was there. We walked over to the outer lobby of the Cafeteria so we could stay warm and talk. I looked Joe in the eyes and proceeded to tell him how nice of I guy I thought he was and my feelings for him. He smiled and told me in return that he shared these feelings, and asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend! This was November 1st, 2019, and we have been together ever since. It was such a rollercoaster of feelings, but that is the fun in development and the continuation. Joe proposed to me before our engagement trip to Tenessee on December 13th, 2021. It has been a long challenging and joyous road for us, but I know for a fact, we both wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”

T&J

Taryn and Joe's Wedding