Josh and Amber were scheduled to be married on March 21, 2020; the first Saturday of quarantine. We were able to still get them married in Amber's parents backyard with seven guests but postponed the reception until September.... Greatest thing about the September reception, we were able to have their gender reveal as well because they were PREGNANT!!! I cannot express how amazing it is to be apart of so many amazing milestones with this couple.. greatest feeling in the world. Say hello to Josh and Amber!
Amber and I have known of each other since elementary school, but never really played or hung out. After college we randomly reconnected and started dating. We had our ups and downs and we both moved all around the country, but we truly couldn’t stay away from each other. I visited Amber, a travel nurse, at each of her temporary homes/places of work over the last 5 years, while I was still living in Wyoming. Then, she moved back to our hometown around her birthday. She had no idea that I had already designed a ring with my late grandmother's diamond, and on her birthday I made the trip back to Tx, and while she was working out, I snuck outside to ask her parents for their permission to marry her... and of course they said yes. Later that night her family and friends came over to celebrate her birthday. She opened all her gifts and mine was the last. I told her to close her eyes, because I hadn't wrapped it and when she opened them I was on one knee with ring in hand. Once we made it official, I packed up and moved back to TX to start our lives together!
Leading up to the wedding I wasn’t really nervous.
However, we never could have predicted how covid19 would impact our wedding day. With each passing day, it became more and more clear that our dreams to have our closest family and friends by our sides on this day, wasn't going to be a reality. We made the very difficult decision to postpone our wedding, knowing that we couldn't ask our medical/military/high risk loved ones to sacrifice their jobs, or their health, for us. We decided, with our marriage license in hand, that we couldn't miss this opportunity, and asked Amber's parents to host a backyard wedding. Amber's sister and best friend couldn't be stopped, and drove across TX to support us, and even in the pouring rain, we pulled off a beautiful ceremony. My grandfather, FaceTime efficiated on an iPad suspended behind us, and our families, and wedding party members, joined our Zoom meeting, from a total of 9 states nation wide, dressed in their wedding attire, ready to watch us say, "I do". Even with all the hiccups, and glitches in technology, the moment I saw her walk around the corner with her dad, that all fell away, and it hit me... I was finally marrying my person.
This day was made incredibly special by our coordinator, Heather. She was on the phone with Amber each day, as the president changed the rules of travel and congregation. Heather was so dedicated to helping us make this day happen, that her and her husband delivered equipment, set up our wedding alter in the rain, and found a wonderful photographer last minute to document this unique intimate moment. We are so grateful for the work our families put in to making this moment work for us, and it wouldn't have been complete without Heather's input, help, and flexibility!
