Wedding Date on Aug 1, 2020

We initially met in 6th grade at our middle school. But we really started to get to know one another in the 7th grade once he moved into my neighborhood. He and his group of friends would bully and tease me and my friends (who ended up being my bridesmaids) on the school bus. Eventually we went from being enemies to frenemies as he matured more in high school. Our friend group would eat lunch together and hang out after school. I never saw him as more than a friend. Apparently he felt differently. Fast forward to senior year of high school- my friends asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch. I declined their request, but they were very adamant on going out. As we walked outside, Andy pulls up in his car with a sign that says "Will you go to prom with me?" This marks the beginning of our relationship journey. Andy is in the army so we were long distance before getting engaged or married. He unexpectedly made a visit to MD and showed up at my doorstep. He surprised me and said he had the entire day planned. We pull up to a run down building and I see planes and people falling from the sky. He tells me that we are skydiving. Reluctantly, we gear up and jump out of a plane that day. After this, we go to one of our favorite restaurants that we went to on one of our first dates. Following dinner, he suggests that we walk around. After some walking, we approach a huge ferris wheel. We reminisce about the time he had first asked me to be his girlfriend on the same ferris wheel in 2014. Andy suggests that we ride the ferris wheel to which I decline. (We've realized there's a pattern of me declining his ideas before all of our biggest moments). He reveals that he already purchased tickets to ride the ferris wheel so he convinces me to go on. We enjoy the view of the ferris wheel as it goes around a couple times. All of a sudden, he drops to one knee at the top of the ferris wheel and pops the big question. Unique and surprising would be understatements in terms of describing our wedding process. We would've never expected to wed in the midst of a pandemic. However, we were amazed at how everything fell into place - almost as if it were meant to happen. In March when the pandemic began, we tried to cancel the wedding. However with our contract, we were unable to do so. We dropped our guest count from 180 to 50 with just family and wedding party. Due to traveling restrictions and with Andy being in the Army, we were unsure whether he'd be able to make it to the wedding until the week of the wedding. On top of that, two weeks before the wedding my photographer and videographer backed out of the wedding due to COVID. The night before the wedding, Andy had gotten food poisoning and was unsure whether he would be able to stand the next day. The weather forecast was predicted to rain that day right at the time of the ceremony. Although we had to drop our numbers, we were able to have an intimate celebration with close family and friends. The week of the wedding, the Army had given Andy special permission to leave NY to MD. I booked a photographer and videographer that would typically be out of my budget one week before the wedding. Andy's food poisoning only lasted for the night and there wasn't a drop of rain on our wedding day! Despite the rollercoaster of emotions during this wedding process, we believe that God remained faithful. Even through the difficult times of wondering why this is all happening, He knew exactly what He was doing. Without the struggle, I wouldn't have been able to lean on Him, my family, and my friends. I wouldn't have been able to cross paths with WONDERFUL people I would've otherwise never met. And I wouldn't have been able to have this story to tell about how God works in miraculous ways.