Boggs Wedding

Andrew and I met by chance on June 21st, 2024. He came to visit a friend for lunch in Tulsa, and we chatted for a minute in passing and thought nothing more. It wasn't until late August that I asked to meet Andrew again, this time for a date. Our mutual friend Nicholas set the date up but told me that he wouldn't do so unless I was certain because Andrew was "husband material," making the anticipation all the better. On our first date on August 31st. We cooked dinner and watched The Fellowship of the Ring with Kayla Hill and Nicholas Triplett. He impressed me with his cooking and I showed off my Lord of the Rings quotes. We chatted all evening long about life and ministry. He asked me for my number, and I got a second date. I remember being in awe of who Andrew was and wondering how a guy like him was still single. He was charming, handsome, kind, and wise, and I just had to know more!

After the first date, we couldn't stop texting. We quickly set up a second date to get to know each other better. Andrew picked me up and took me to a coffee date at the Gathering Place in Tulsa. We walked around, touring the park and interacting with the attractions. We walked and talked for hours on that hot September day. Eventually, we found our way to a pond with a sandy beach and sat in some Appalachian chairs. We watched the water and the children feeding the fish and talked about our lives. We dove into our experiences at ORU, both being in leadership programs. We talked about how that time formed us into the people we are now. Although I was getting to know him, it felt like my heart had known him forever. We talked until it was too dark to speak any longer. If you ask Andrew, that's when he would say that he knew he loved me. That evening, I accidentally left my favorite pair of sunglasses in Andrew's car. Living in McAlester, the commute to Tulsa takes 90 minutes, but in light of me missing my 'sunglasses', Andrew drove back up to Tulsa the very next day to see me and return my sunglasses. Thus, Date Three came to be. We drove around Tulsa all evening. If you ask me, this is when I knew I loved him. Knowing I was falling and falling hard, I asked many questions. I asked about his family, upbringing, experiences, and beliefs and took a deep dive into who Andrew is. I was not playing around. Andrew, in his patience, answered all of my questions. At the end of the evening, the dreaded "what are we?" question came out. We both knew how we felt, but the sudden unexpectedness of the other needed to be discussed. We unpacked our feelings, explained our hurts, worshiped together, and cried together. This is also when we first held hands. Neither of us had ever trusted anyone as quickly as we trusted one another, opening our hearts to where God was taking this. Andrew planned the next date and surprised me with a visit to McAlester to see where he lives and meet his family. He gave me a tour of the farm where his family has lived for over 80 years. This land is not only full of beauty but of memory, meaning, belonging, and purpose. Some might say that bringing home a girl on the fourth date was fast, but for us, the peace surrounding it made it feel predestined. He gave me a tour of the land and took me to a place called The Three Trees, a small clearing at the edge of the forest in which three solitary, old trees stand. Sitting under the trees, Andrew poured his heart out, declaring his intentions for dating to be marriage anchored in Christ. He told me how he felt and what I meant to him. For those who know me, you know I am seldomly speechless. I know my own mind and can articulate those thoughts and feelings easily and regularly. However, this moment was the first time in my life that I was utterly speechless. I knew Andrew was different, and I was experiencing a feeling that was new to me. He asked me to be his girlfriend, and I joyfully said yes. I got to meet all his family, his parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews, as boyfriend and girlfriend.

When Andrew asked me to be his girlfriend, he gave me a letter of all the times he thought about me but couldn't be with me. Those close to him regularly receive letters sealed with a wax stamp, embossed with his signature letter B. This was my first letter from Andrew, with writings from September 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th. The next time I saw Andrew, he invited me over to his apartment for dinner and cooked short ribs. This time, he had another letter waiting for me. This letter recorded each time Andrew wanted to say that he loved me. Rather than bottling up that feeling, he expressed it in this letter. Here is a short entry from that letter. "Today, I will tell you that I love you. Those are so much more than mere words. They're the truth and a promise. I will love you with the God kind of love. For it is by God this love was made, through God we met, and for God we will always be. My love, I can't wait to meet you each morning, discover this world together, and help God's people with you at my side. I've waited to say it from date 3. I love you. - A. Boggs" After reading this letter, Andrew explained that his love for me is not of earthly love but love that can only come from and be sustained by God. He not only felt this love but chose to dedicate himself to sustaining it. Knowing it with full sincerity in my heart, I told Andrew that I loved him, too. Since then, I have received many love letters from Andrew, and our love has only grown and been refined under God's love.

During our two months of dating, we sought to answer one simple yet all-encompassing question: Is this the person I am supposed to marry? Although we felt that we knew the answer in our hearts, we confirmed this question time and time again through complete vulnerability with one another, wise counsel from our families and mentors, and revelation from the Lord. Andrew and I traveled to see one another regularly, spending intentional time together. No topic was off limits, and no parts of our lives were kept hidden. Our candidness with one another and with the Lord was tangibly fruitful, yielding a depth in our relationship that superseded time, and everyone around us could see this. People would consistently stop us to remark on the evidence of our love for one another.

At this point, we had complete certainty that we were going to be married within the next year, but we had gone back and forth on dates. Andrew threw out June, which I thought was fast but possible. Andrew's birthday is June 20th, and he said he wanted to be married for his birthday, so we had informally decided to get married on June 21st. Marissa, Andrew's mom, asked if we wanted to go tour a venue nearby that was having an open house for tours that Friday. We decided to go and look, not wanting to settle on a venue yet. The three of us went to look at the venue, imagining how it would look and feel to walk down the aisle there and fill the space with all those whom we love most. It was a beautiful tour, but I was still skeptical, wanting to wait and look around. I went to bed that night not thinking anything more about it. The next morning, I woke up with an overwhelming certainty that we needed to book the venue. However, at this point, Andrew hadn't met my family, and we were not engaged. I told Andrew how I felt, and he said he felt the same certainty that neither of us could explain. We knew the Lord wanted us to book our wedding. After talking it over with one another and with our parents, we called the venue to book our wedding. The only date they had available in June was June 21st, the exact date we wanted, further confirming the Lord's blessing on our marriage. This was a substantial leap of faith, trusting that the Lord would take care of it, especially since we were not engaged yet. Later that evening after booking the venue, we were reading together and stopped, wondering when the first time we met was. Since it happened in passing, neither of us knew the day. Andrew went back to see when he met Nich for lunch in Tulsa and discovered that we had met on June 21st, exactly one year before we would be married. We both felt overwhelming peace as if the Lord was reassuring us that we were following His leadership in booking our wedding venue and date. We sat there together and cried at the overwhelming goodness of our God. I didn't know this at the time, but Andrew had decided to propose that day, and he came up with a plan to buy the ring he had designed. He knew he had to get the ball rolling, especially since we had already booked. He knew he was going to propose before this, but the Lord's assurance during each step solidified his plans to ask me to be his wife. The next morning, Andrew and I went to church together. We were giddy at the fact that we knew when we were going to get married, a short 8 months from then. We wanted to shout it from the rooftops but had to find a way to tell people and the church that we were going to be married, especially since we were not formally engaged. This service was special as there was a guest speaker. We had spoken with her briefly before service, but she did not know us or our story. During the second service, she began to speak in words of prophesy over the church. She was revealing things that the Lord wanted to speak over this congregation, and then suddenly, she walked toward us from the stage and pointed right at us in the audience. She then said that "there's a boyfriend and girlfriend over there (still pointing at us in front of the whole church). I don't know if you're engaged, you probably are. If you aren't, you will be. That's a word from the Lord, I know it. You know what will keep that marriage more beautiful than other relationships, you spend time, you talk to each other, you work through the hard times, when you can't find the answer, when you don't understand her and you don't understand him, instead of getting mad and saying I'm going to be mean or I'm not going to talk to you, keep the flame alive. Keep the flame burning. When we keep the flame burning, we find Jesus." Again, and very publically this time, the Lord confirmed that we were going to get married. Our step of obedience and faith was instantly rewarded. God is so good!

Andrew, making his plans for the future, knew he had to meet the family from which Hailey came. What I didn't know was Andrew's plans to ask for her parent's blessing to ask me to be his wife. This trip to Maryland was leisurely, taking long walks through the woods, cooking, playing board games, watching movies, and delighting in one another. I saw Andrew speaking with my parents and thought how sweet that was, but when I joined them, my dad said, "You have our blessing!" This took me by complete surprise. To my delight, Andrew had asked them for their blessing, and they gladly gave it. My parents explained the peace that had settled on them as soon as they met Andrew, saying he was everything they had hoped for in a husband for Hailey. We got to speak candidly about our plans for the future and celebrate the blessing in full awe of the Lord's favor on us and our relationship.

My mother came to visit from Maryland for the weekend. She was staying with me in Tulsa, but we planned to visit McAlester to see the farm and meet all of Andrew's family. I knew something might happen when she suggested that I get my nails done, which I never do. So, without asking more questions, I get my nails done. Mom and Kayla come to stay with me, and we go wedding dress shopping for us both. Kayla and I both pick out wedding dresses, and it is the most delightful time. The next day, we drove to McAlester to meet up with Andrew, but only when we arrived at his apartment he wasn't there. Instead, there was a charcuterie board, pictures, sparkling cider, and a beautiful white dress with a note. This note said to soak this moment in, get ready, and meet him at the gate of the farm at 3 pm. This gave my mom, sister, and myself time to eat lunch, watch Downton Abbey, and get ready. I put on the white dress he had bought for me and made my way to the farm. When I arrived, he met me and drove me through the fields to The Three Trees, the place where he asked me to be his girlfriend. Set up was a stunning picnic filled with many of my favorite things. He had grapes, cheese, a cake, his Bible opened to 1 Corinthians 13, hydrangeas, and sourdough bread. Standing there in front of the picnic, he read me an entry from his journal that he had written in February of this year, before we had met. He wrote that his heart always knew me and longed for me. He knew me but did not know my name. He knew he would meet me in the next year. Although we hadn't met yet, his heart was acquainted with mine, and now, our hearts could become one. Holding back tears, he asked me to marry him. Already streaming with tears, I said yes. We took photos attached in our gallery here, and then joined his family for an engagement party at his parent's house. There was a beautiful spread of charcuterie and another gorgeous cake. This was the most beautiful and joyous day I could have ever asked for. I am so thrilled to finally tell people that I will be his wife!