Jake and Olivia's Grand Ivory Wedding in Dallas, Texas
They met in Belize, on a mission trip with their church, Christ Chapel College — two students from TCU who somehow hadn’t crossed paths until then. Jake remembers the first time he saw her: on the bus, hair flipping, singing loudly with the rest of the group. That night, they ended up side by side at dinner, talking about their faith, Greek life, and the beautiful, messy ways their lives had been shaped by grace. She remembers feeling drawn to him from the beginning. He gave her dating advice. She talked about a crush on one of his friends. But they both knew — something deeper was unfolding.
Back in Fort Worth, their lives kept overlapping. Hallway hellos turned into long coffee shop conversations. Group hangouts turned into intentional moments in between classes. And slowly, steadily, what began as friendship started growing into something much more.
Two years after that first mission trip, Jake invited her to dinner with a couple they both deeply admired — nothing unusual. They planned to meet in the Fort Worth Stockyards, near where it all began. She got ready, half-wondering if something might be happening, half-convinced it wasn’t the day. No ring box in his pocket. Another date already planned for tomorrow. But as they walked together through a narrow alley near the shops — the same alley where Jake had once asked her to be his girlfriend — it hit her. That day, in the place where their relationship first took root, Jake asked her to marry him.
There were too many favorite moments to name just one — but if she had to, it would be this: walking toward Jake at the end of the aisle, holding his hands, and reciting their vows to one another. In that moment, the whole world seemed to fall away. It was just the two of them — steady, tearful, sure — wholeheartedly committing to love, sacrifice, and pursue one another for the rest of their lives.
It was more than a ceremony. It was a covenant.
Surrounded by friends and family — their witnesses, their encouragers, their community — they spoke promises not just to each other, but before the Lord. Promises to reflect His love. To give of themselves fully. To endure, to rejoice, to forgive. A marriage that points to the mystery in Ephesians 5: that love isn’t self-protection — it’s surrender.
He is her best friend — the clearest reflection of God’s love for her in the world today. And together, their hope is simple and eternal: that their marriage would be a living picture of the everlasting, steadfast, faithful love of Jesus.
