My Love Story

March 12, 2009 was the weekend Kurt and I first met. It was also the weekend of our first date, that Kurt met my entire family and that we decided to embark on the crazy up and down journey of long-distance dating. But to start at our story's true beginning we have to back track a few years... 

I met Kurt in high school, or at least, I learned of him in high school. We connected on Myspace of all places. I was 14, living in Tallahassee and he was 16, living in Chicago. We added each other for the trivial reason of liking the same musical artist and, as Kurt always adds, because he thought I was cute. Although we became “friends” we interacted very little. It wasn’t until some five years later when we reconnected on Facebook that we began talking more. We both enjoy politics and during the 2008 elections began commenting on each other’s links and statuses and then slowly found other reasons to talk too.

After a few Facebook chats and long messages, we had our first phone conversation. I remember our second one lasting 4 hours! As crazy as it all was, we shared so many things in common and our talks were easy and natural. We talked about our families, Christianity and the things we were passionate about. Even though I’d never met him, I felt like we were friends.

I had a freak out moment though - I’d never met this
guy and I certainly didn’t picture myself “internet dating.” Kurt, being the determined guy that he is though, asked if he could write me letters, a “slower” version of interacting (but certainly a more intentional one). I agreed and a week later received a packaged in the mail – a journal. Kurt had written a letter on the first page. He explained that we could write letters in the book and mail it back and forth to each other. He had also included a mixed CD he’d made; something tells me it wasn’t a coincidence that the first track was We Belong Together by Gavin DeGraw. Talk about bold! Talk about romantic! It blew me out of the water. 

He did a bunch of other sweet things via mail - a necklace (that just so happened to be exactly my style), flowers, etc. And after a few letters, I realized our relationship would probably continue to develop. I decided to tell my parents about him, and they calmly suggested we meet (what??). So in March of 2009, Kurt boarded a redeye flight from Los Angeles (where he was attending college) to Florida. Neither of us got much sleep that night.

When I nervously arrived at the airport he was already there waiting. He had the biggest grin on his face but I was shaking with nervousness. We hugged and said a few awkward things and then I blurted that I needed to pee and ran to the bathroom. I was so overwhelmed. Our first day together was amazing though. We sat on the beach talking and holding hands. Eventually I got used to his piercing blue eyes and began to relax. Which was good, because that night Kurt met my entire family, my dad even made him pray at the dinner table.

The following day we went on our first date to an Italian restaurant. I remember the candlelight and feeling giddy and talking about all sorts of things, but to be honest, the memory's a bit of a blur. But when the weekend was over and I was driving Kurt back to the airport, we were so overjoyed by how well it had gone. We knew we wanted to embark on a journey together – and we did! 

We ended up dating long-distance for 15 months while we finished our undergraduate degrees. Thankfully, we found ways to see each other. The saying, "where there’s a will there’s a way," became very true for us. I visited Kurt in California and stayed in dorm rooms with his friends. He visited my family in Virginia for my cousin's wedding. I visited him in DC during his internship. I met his family in Chicago. And the list goes on.

Finally, after graduating, I packed my little two-seater car and drove cross-country to California so we could live in the same city. A difficult move for me but a wonderful leap for our relationship. We learned countless new things about each other and were able to enjoy building mutual friendships, going to church together and all the little things we couldn't before.


Five months after moving, Kurt asked me to be his wife. We were visiting the beautiful city of San Francisco and he’d been sure to feed me white lies leading up to the trip (what girl wouldn't have a San Fran proposal cross her mind?). I was totally caught me by surprise when he started acting all strange by the Golden Gate bridge and telling me over and over how much he loved me. I was even more surprised to see my sister, Lindsey, emerge from the bushes after Kurt popped the question. He had flown her out from Florida for the weekend. I hadn't seen her in six months and it meant the world to me to have her there. It was such a sweet time. The three of us explored the city the following day and just took the whole experience in.

Now we're married and are so thankful for the journey we've had. It's been worth every weepy goodbye, dropped phone call and difficult transition (and there have been a lot). We're even more excited for the adventures ahead. It's good to be in love with your best friend!


Other lovey dovey posts:
I Married a Visionary, What Now?
We're in this Together
Wedding Photos
Engagement Photos