Julia Claire and I met on November 19, 2023 at Redeemer Community Church in Birmingham. It all started with her asking if they needed to scoot over for our big group that needed a lot of seats, and basically concluded with a couple awkward small talk questions I came up with to keep getting a look at her. I couldn’t believe how beautiful she was and how I had never seen her before. After the service, I asked my friend’s girlfriend at the time, “Who was that?” and “Is she single?” She informed me her name was Julia Claire Armstrong, she transferred to Samford from Auburn her sophomore year, and that she was indeed single. We left for Thanksgiving break later that week, and then came back to a busy week of final exams. After some encouragement from friends, I finally got the nerve to ask her out and we went on our first date on December 7th.

The date was awesome! We went to Continental Bakery in Mountain Brook, and sat and talked for about 4 hours. We had so much to talk about because honestly, neither of us knew anything about each other, as neither of us had heard of each other before. Once again, I was blown away, and this beautiful, sweet girl only amazed me more. We went on another date before I left for Christmas break where I cooked for her and we saw a Christmas light show. She actually texted me first after this date, and we agreed to call over the break and that we would love to pick back up when we got back from break.

In January when I returned, we continued going on dates and had a class together luckily. I had gotten to know her friends and she got to know mine. I was really falling for her and felt like this was the girl I prayed for. By the end of the spring semester, both of us were truly in love. And that love only grew further over the summer through beach trips, lake trips, and every other random day trip.

Over the next year, Julia Claire and I learned how to love each other even better, growing in the Lord together, and pushing each other closer to Him. It was evident that the Lord placed us in each other’s lives for marriage and for lifelong friendship. She is truly my best friend and the most amazing person I have ever met. After time planning out what a future would look like, praying over our future, and a lot of waiting, I got down on one knee and proposed to my best friend on July 26, 2025. Julia Claire is a dream that I get to live out everyday, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. That starts with our wedding on June 27, 2026. We can’t wait to have all of our friends and family all in one place to celebrate us coming together as One. Our prayer is through the ceremony that you do not only see us, but that our marriage ceremony and marriage is a reflection of Christ that day and for every day of our lives.