Our Story

We met at Taylor University during Paul's sophomore year and Ashley's freshman year. We lived in the same dorm, and were introduced by Ashley's suitemates, who were good friends with Paul. We became friends fast, mostly due to the fact that both of us were night owls. Sometimes we would stay up so late in the lounge talking and playing cards that we said hello to people going to breakfast!

We started dating March 5th, 2002. We learned a lot about each other and relationships in general during the first two years. With Paul planning to graduate in May 2004, and Ashley graduating the following December, we decided that we should get married. Paul proposed in May 2004 by hiding a ring in a tulip and presenting it to Ashley during a beautiful spring day in May. Four days later, we said goodbye after Paul's graduation and started our long-distance relationship.

We were happily engaged for three months, but in August we hit a major rough patch in our relationship. Some issues sprung up and amid miscommunication and trying to please everyone, we called off the engagement and broke up for about a month. It was a time of great heartache for both of us, and a time where God drew us each individually into His arms. We realized that our relationship had strayed from God, and we were not ready for marriage. Through much prayer and caution, we started talking again. Paul came to visit Ashley at Taylor in October 2004, and we drove to Kentucky to visit Mammoth Caves. We spent 9 hours in the car, just talking about our relationship and our future. We could see where we had gone wrong, and we weren't sure if we would be able to work through everything that had happened, but we decided to try. We prayed and committed our relationship to God, and He blessed it.

Ashley graduated from Taylor in December 2004, and went on to get a job in Atlanta in March 2005. A week before Ashley got her job, Paul got a job in Providence, RI. Since both were good opportunities that we felt that God wanted us to pursue, we decided to take the jobs even though it meant another year or so of long distance. God has blessed both of us immensely during the past year, and we feel that it was the right decision. As we started into the world on our own, we learned more about ourselves and what we wanted in a spouse.

We had always planned for Paul to move to Atlanta after about a year working at his Rhode Island job. We talked a lot about the options open to us, and prayed for God's wisdom in this situation. In February 2006, we decided together that we really wanted to be married before fall of 2006 for numerous reasons. We debated and prayed about the decision, and decided that we had gotten to a point in our relationship where marriage was the next step. We excitedly told our families, and with their blessing we announced it to all of our friends.

That brings us to now. Paul has moved to Atlanta, and is currently working a contract position as a webmaster for CNN. We set the date for July 29th, 2006 and are very excited! God has led us so far since that day in May 2004, and we feel we are walking testimonies to His goodness! We look forward to our lives together, and we are thankful for all the support we have received from friends and family!


We announced our engagement to our friends and family by posting this picture on Ashley's website!