So often I am drawn to a wedding by the jaw-dropping details, the beautiful images, the lovely couple positively bursting with happiness. This wedding has all of that and more but what really caught my attention, made me stop and want to settle in with this affair, was the thoughtfulness. Below the gorgeous images by Jessica Lewis Photography filled with stunning details by Brooke Keegan Weddings and Events, is a heart-warming account of how these two met from the perspective of the Groom. A definite must read if we ever saw one and one that makes this wedding all the more sweet. See it all here.
Click here to see the entire gallery of images!
From the Groom…I wish I could say that our story started with me riding up on a horse and sweeping Lauren off her feet, or even with me saving a golden retriever puppy out of a burning building and delivering it to Lauren; rather, it all started with my knees shaking, voice cracking, and a thought process of a 12 year old boy desperately attempting to be known by the most beautiful girl ever. Lauren was a clinical coordinator at the front office at Fuller Seminary’s School of Psychology and I was a mere 1st year psychology student, trying to establish some footing somewhere amidst the beginning of a 6 year eternally-long graduate program.
In typical fashion with how these things go, I noticed her…and she did not notice me. My noticing of her led me to forget about my graduate program and instead contrive the perfect approach to wooing this girl. Lauren was also new to Fuller, and for those of you outside of the Christian seminary school social bubble, seminaries are shark pits for new and beautiful female students with all the over zealous and anxious soon-to-be pastors desperate to settle down. It took me 3 weeks and waiting my turn behind all the other guys in order to muster the strength to ask her out. Moments before I inquired about this, her roommate, Alison, promptly told me to proceed through alternate means. This actually worked quite well for a man of my personality, as I tend to draw a blank with direct communication and am excellent in my indirect communication skills (which is hardly a skill and I am learning the former approach). Going back to the drawing board, I devised a plan to get to know Lauren as a friend, with the hope that she would fall in love with my personality as I had been falling for hers.
Though my plan was nearly fail proof, my suaveness was not. My first tactic was to get to know Lauren at her desk in the psychology office. On any given day, I would nervously walk in, absolutely avoiding eye contact with her, pretend I needed to ask her a question, and do my best to generate some sort of flirtatious conversation. The first few attempts were met with intense awkwardness as my inability to make eye contact and my strange questions and comments (e.g., What sports did you play in high school? Can I tell you about how cool my parents are?) created an uncomfortable environment in an absolutely silent office setting where all the other employees heard my every nervous and shaky word.
Over time, and by the grace of God, there must have been something enticing in my demeanor; perhaps it was my seeming like a lost puppy that eventually caught the attention of Ms. Lauren. Uneasy conversations as I “just happened to be passing by” the office soon evolved into lunch breaks together as Lauren and I walked around Pasadena. Although I still had difficulty in the suave/confident department (e.g., “What are your biggest weaknesses?” – the first lunch break together), we eventually became inseparable. Lunch breaks turned into afternoons together, and afternoons together turned into everything together, from the library to hamburgers to parks to conversations until 6am to let-me-introduce-you-to-my-entire-extended-family weekends.
Overall, it has been an incredible journey thus far. We are so blessed to be together. It has been a time of immense joy and growth for both of us. Our wedding was about joining together the individual journeys of our individual lives, as we, through Christ, align our paths together and as we strengthen and support each other in order to better serve those around us. I am thrilled; Lauren is thrilled. We are still pinching ourselves that we actually did it- we are married! Our wedding was a reflection of our two personalities coming together (i.e. Eric skateboard in the wedding shots and wearing vans shoes as his attire, Lauren wearing a flower in her hair and wearing her favorite color lavender on her dress). We so hoped for the details of our wedding to communicate our love to our family and friends who have supported us all along the way. We did not want to be the only ones leaving our wedding feeling loved, but we wanted each person there to know how very special there are to us.
Wedding Photography: Jessica Lewis Photography / Wedding Coordination: Brooke Keegan Weddings and Events / Venue: Shady Canyon Country Club / Hair + Make-up: Beauty and the Beach / Floral Design: Urban Gardener / Cocktail + Reception Music: Vive Entertainment / Wedding Cake: French’s Bakery