I’m not sure if it’s the ridiculous gorg florals, or the rustic flare, or the way he looks at her that has me hooked, but hooked I am. This is a wedding that tugs at my heartstrings and reminds me what a wedding is all about. Laughter, family, and most importantly love. And some rocking photographs from The Youngrens. All of those things. And all of those things are hanging out in the gallery, so click here to see that!
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It was June 2010. Garrett and Megan were in the same major at Point Loma Nazarene University but had never even met each other until they landed in Athens, Greece on June first to study abroad there with a group of fifteen students and two professors. Little did they know that exactly two years later to the day, Garrett would be on one knee on a bluff overlooking the Pacific, asking Meg to live life together forever.
The month in June consisted of so much magic. However, when we tell people that we met in Greece, they automatically think that things obviously got romantic there because how could we possibly resist the romance of it all?! In all honesty, we formed an awesome friendship there. We spent a month straight together traveling and exploring. And when you travel with people you definitely get to see them in many aspects of their personality, both good and bad. But we are so thankful for this time because we were able to build such a strong friendship as our foundation. Of course, amidst the romance, there were definitely moments of smiles at each other that lingered a little long, sharing desserts, and discussing the important matters of life together. Garrett says that he fell in love in Greece, Megan thought about it, but wanted to “just be friends with everyone. Study abroad isn’t the real world anyways. Crushes are bound to develop.”
The thing that attracted us to each other was our positivity and excitement about life and exploring and caring about people. Megan’s grandma Nancy gave them some advice over Skype while the were in Greece and she said “Gobble up as much of life as you can!” That became Megan and Garrett’s motto while in Greece, and has continued to be a common thread in their relationship.
Some of the magical moments in Greece happened on the island of Santorini. It is the postcard-esque island with white buildings and blue dome-shaped rooftops. Garrett, Megan and their friend Jenay snuck on top of a rooftop and watch the sunset over the gigantic blue ocean as sun streams poured through the windmills. And later that night they each bought slices of cake and went on top of another rooftop to eat it. Jenay fell asleep but Garrett and Megan did not. They finished their cake, and then laid down to lose themselves in the thousands of visible starts as music could be heard from the dimly lit restaurants along the water. They talked for a couple hours about family, aspirations, struggles. If Megan is honest with herself, she fell a little bit in love with Gare that night, against her will of course.
But now it is evident, that it wasn’t just a crush that was born amidst ruins in Athens and rooftops in Santorini. It was a vibrant, passionate, real love between Garrett and Megan. They returned from Greece and kept in contact for the rest of summer via texting. Garrett says now that he just didn’t want Meg to forget about him! Upon returning to school, they had two classes together and were able to see each other in more “real life” settings. They took their time because both really wanted to be sure that a relationship was a risk worth taking. After a few casual coffee dates, Garrett asked Megan on an official date on September 24th, and one month later on October 24th, Garrett read some journal entries that he had written in Greece. “Megan is SO awesome. I really want to get to know her better. She is totally the type of person that I could see myself with and I think I want to pursue her when we are back in San Diego.” After reading his entries he said, “Soo, when people ask me if you are my girlfriend, can I start telling them ‘yes?'”
“Yeah, I would like that.”
From then on the two have been striving to gobble up as much of life as they can; to love God, love each other, and out of both of those things, to love others. And they still occasionally climb on rooftops to watch sunsets together…
Photography: The Youngrens / Cinematography: Andy Norbeck, (847) 337-0842 / Flowers: Carter & Cook Event Co. / Ceremony & Reception Location: Bommer Canyon, Irvine, CA / Invitations: Wes Bruce Design / Shoes: TOMS / Rentals: Persiano Event Rentals / DJ: Sean Sand, 760.533.1244 / Catering: Saltwater Catering / Ceremony Musician: Jordan Frye, (805) 407-4156 / Reception Band: Moonsville Collective