Kaitlin's Perspective
Jon and I met when our college roommates, Chris and Katie
Plume, got married in May of 2009. I was
Katie’s bridesmaid, Jon was Chris’s groomsman, and the two of them had paired
us to walk down the aisle together—a walk they had no idea would foreshadow a walk
down another aisle several years later! J I remember taking
Jon’s arm at the rehearsal and immediately feeling a spark as we introduced
ourselves. We chatted all through the
rehearsal dinner and the reception the next day—I found him incredibly easy to
talk to, smart, and charming! He asked
for my phone number and for a picture with me before we parted ways that
weekend, and I remember feeling breathless and excited as another groomsman
snapped the photo:
After the wedding, we texted non-stop for about a week and
then began talking on the phone for hours each evening. I couldn’t believe how relaxed and happy I
felt during these long conversations—we never once ran out of things to say to
each other. Jon asked me to be his
girlfriend after our first visit, and I enthusiastically said yes. We’ve dated for four years and supported each
other through many life changes: student teaching in China, multiple seasonal
National Park Service jobs along the East Coast, graduate school, and my first
teaching position. After years of
long-distance dating, we cannot wait
to eliminate the words “I miss you” from our vocabulary!
I’ve never met a man with a kinder, more selfless heart than
Jon’s. He loves Jesus deeply. He loves me unconditionally, with both
gentleness and strength. He feels such
compassion for hurting people, particularly those that I tend to overlook. He serves others with enthusiasm, continually
noticing what people need and stepping in quietly to meet those needs. I am in love with Jon’s sharp mind and his
insatiable desire to explore history, literature, nature, and other
cultures. He’s an adventurer, and I love
adventuring with him! I also love Jon’s
goofy sense of humor, particularly his punny-ness, as much as I groan when he
puns. J I feel so blessed to become this wonderful
man’s wife—Mrs. Kaitlin Manchester!!!
Jon's Perspective
When I travelled to New York for Chris and Katie Plume’s
wedding, I never imagined what it would mean for my future. I was getting ready to begin a new career,
and there were big changes coming for me.
Little did I know that the biggest of those changes was going to involve
a sweet, kind, and beautiful curly-haired bridesmaid from Richmond, Virginia.
Kaitlin was easy to talk to, and we hit it off. That is not to say that I was not
nervous. She was smart, funny and
charming, and I really liked her. At the
wedding reception, I screwed up every nerve I had to ask her to dance with
me. Just as I was about to ask, we were
both pulled aside to go and decorate the Plumes’ car before the reception
ended. We finished, and I was a bundle
of nervous energy as we went back inside. They were playing the last slow song
of the night, but as I looked around, Kaitlin was nowhere to be seen. She quickly returned, and though I did not
get that dance, I did get both a photo with her and her phone number before the
evening ended.
And so began a month of long text and phone
conversations. At that point, I was in
North Carolina, only four hours from Richmond.
I traveled up on one of my weekends and she showed me around the city,
and that first night, sitting on the back porch, I asked her to be my
girlfriend. And though we did not have a
conventional relationship because of my job, God thankfully placed me where I
was easily able to travel and see Kaitlin as often as possible.
I am so blessed to have Kaitlin in my life. She is a Godly woman who has taught me so
much about grace and unconditional love.
She is an extremely talented, driven woman with a desire to learn and a passion
to teach, something that we both share. She
is very intelligent, kind, sweet, and compassionate. Her sense of humor is infectious, and she
loves to laugh and be goofy. She even puts
up with my puns, which I know she secretly enjoys. Her sense of adventure and desire to travel
excite me for the places that we can explore together in the years to come. She has been my biggest supporter, and she
always encourages me in my goals and endeavors. I look forward to what the future has in store,
and to seeing where God will lead us. J
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