We're getting married!

April 19, 2021 Michigan announced an executive order for indoor venues to hold 50% capacity. We are praying and seeking guidance through this time as we value the presence of everyone we invited. As of right now we plan to continue to pray and see what is to come with the next epidemic order on May 24, 2021. We are hopeful as the vaccine roll out continues and Michigan begins to digress that we do not have to make any changes. With or without a restriction on our guest count, we would love for any and all guests to join us Saturday June 12th for a sunset evening hangout at Silver Beach in St. Joseph MI. The wedding day will be busy and we will be so focused on getting married to one another, this will allow us to welcome you as well as relax and enjoy your company. We also ask that you please mark your calendars for this day as we plan on this being a backup marriage celebration with our friends if the next epidemic order continues a 50% capacity. There will not be food or drinks provided, therefore please plan accordingly. If you have any questions please text or call Olivia at (616)510-9492

It was the first week back to school after winter break 2018 when Olivia Baur and Brendan Skinner first met. Brendan, still a freshman, had transferred to Western Michigan University. Seeking to connect with the local faith community, Brendan was brought to his first FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meeting by teammate Anthony Bowie. Meanwhile, Olivia was a regular attendee at FCA as she had been a cheerleader for the Broncos. It was at this fellowship event that Olivia and Brendan’s paths first crossed. FCA meetings began by spending five minutes meeting someone new, so Brendan turned around to Olivia and introduced himself. From there, Brendan did the best he could to try and get to know this Olivia, but he wasn’t having much success. Olivia was short and seemingly disinterested, but Olivia had certainly sparked Brendan’s interest. A week later, in Brown Hall, Brendan spotted Olivia in a hallway after his class. He recognized her and decided to go say hello. Once again, he was met by the same cold front that he received a few weeks prior. What Brendan didn’t know, but later found out, was Olivia was going through a lot of personal challanges. At this point, Brendan called it quits. Three months later Olivia was coming out of a difficult season and had planned to remain single until the Lord clearly placed the right guy in her life. She had decided to put her focus on pursuing her relationship with God. At the end of May Olivia was having some health issues and Brendan decided to reach out to ask how she was doing and what he could be praying for. These conversations lead to a flourishing friendship that consisted of months studying at the library together, attending church and fellowship events, and occasional dates. In November, Brendan confessed his feelings to Olivia, and she reciprocated. After a few more conversations and a winter break to discuss with parents, Olivia and Brendan started dating on January 3rd of 2019.

May 28th of 2020, Brendan had planned a double date with his best friend Thomas Dayton and his wonderful girlfriend Lauren Brya. The plan was to spend the day in Olivia’s hometown of Holland, Michigan. It had been months since the couples had seen each other, so the excitement was immense. Brendan had spent the past month working with Thomas and Lauren, Olivia’s parents and sister Alexa, and his own parents. However, this planning didn’t come without its fair share of roadblocks. Firstly, the ring, which is a family ring, was in Canada. After being sized and cleaned Brendan had hoped his parents could ship it to Kalamazoo. Due to border closure, Brendan and his family didn’t feel confident shipping the ring internationally. After much deliberation with his parents and Alexa, he decided that nothing was stopping him from proposing and that he was going to tie a piece of twine string around her finger for the meantime. The second roadblock was making sure Olivia could get sufficient time off work. Olivia had been working on the Covid unit at the hospital, causing her and Brendan to spend time distancing themselves from each other out of consideration for roommates and immunocompromised family members. Brendan wanted Olivia to have enough time off work to where they felt comfortable being able to embrace. The third roadblock was that Olivia had suspicions as she had been able to track Brendan’s location the day her Brendan went to visit her parents and ask for their blessing. But the greatest roadblock that Brendan faced was something a lot harder, patience. Brendan had known for more than a year now that Olivia was the wife of his youth and a blessing from God. He’d known for so long that he wanted to marry her and the toughest thing was having to wait.

Thanks be to God, May 28th had arrived. Olivia and Brendan drove out to Holland, met up with Thomas and Lauren and spent a wonderful day in Holland. It was a day filled with laughter and great joy. They toured around the beautiful tulip island, had a lovely picnic under a gazebo in a park downtown, and finished their tour at the State Park. After a relaxing evening of hammocking and playing frisbee at the beach, Brendan suggested they take couples pictures on the pier. It was here that Brendan expressed his love for Olivia and his gratitude for her in his life. He told her how he was ready to spend the rest of his life with her in a devoted partnership, serving her and together serving the Lord. Brendan then got down on one knee and asked the question, “Olivia Baur, will you marry me?” to which Olivia replied, “Yes!”. Brendan clumsily tied the twine string around her finger and the two embraced, elated with the reality of beginning the rest of their lives together.