Sydney and Justin’s beautiful love story all started when a mutual friend mentioned to Sydney that she thought Justin was a very nice guy. Reluctant at first to meet him, Sydney was quickly won over when the friend mentioned how generous and nice Justin was to their children. Always having had a love for children, Sydney quickly agreed that she was open to meeting him.

A few weeks later, Sydney and her mom needed to go to a different midweek meeting. She called her friend to let her know she would be visiting their congregation. The friend and their boys decided to invite Justin to have pizza at Brixx Pizza after the meeting. He had no idea that Sydney and her mom would be there. After an initial introduction, Sydney and Justin both shared their travel aspirations and general interest in life. Each enjoyed the conversation and getting to know each other, but neither made the move to exchange numbers.

They had plans to go to dinner at their mutual friend's house, but the plans ended up changing at the last minute. The two decided to go to dinner with another friend, who knew them both. Sydney and Justin spent hours talking about their love of music, hiking, and food. Justin finally made the move to ask Sydney for her number to send her music of a new artist he liked. They made plans to go to Charlotte SHOUT, an art festival, and Pins Mechanical Company that weekend with a group of friends.

At Charlotte SHOUT, Sydney asked Justin to be her teammate during mini golf. They found out how well they communicated and cheered each other on during the game. Now, the duo are excited to commit to being teammates for the rest of their lives. Their appreciation and love for each other only grew stronger. Before Justin left to go visit his family in July, he gave Sydney a gift that would melt her heart. He wrote over 50 handwritten notes for her rolled into little pill capsules. She was to open them anytime she missed him. Justin knew after that trip Sydney was the one for him. Sydney knew Justin was the one for her when he asked for a video clip from one of her speaking engagements and sent detailed notes and feedback. She immediately texted her cousin “I have met the man I am going to marry.”

The couple has enjoyed taking trips together with family, growing together spiritually, showing their competitive sides while playing games, and exploring their city. Each truly is found benefit in mediating on Mark 10:9 “Therefore, what God has yoked together, let no man put apart.”

Sydney, Pearl (Sydney’s mother), and Justin all took a trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a conference Sydney was presenting at. They decided to take a side trip to New Orleans since it was only an hour and a half away from where they would be and Justin had never been.

On the way, Justin casually mentioned he wanted to get beignets BEFORE going to a very nice restaurant. In true Sydney fashion, she had thoughts and opinions as she did not want to potentially get a spec of powdered sugar on her black dress. Justin and Pearl teamed up on her and insisted they go to get beignets before dinner. Sydney agreed with the plan even though she was not thrilled. She even mentioned it again to her mom as she was getting ready that this plan felt ill-advised.

Justin made sure they took every precaution under the sun to not get powdered sugar on their clothes. They had time before their dinner reservation so Justin suggested they go to the riverwalk behind the restaurant. Sydney still had no idea what he had planned. The two sat on a bench by the Mississippi River to talk about how much they had enjoyed their trip and were glad they were there together. Sydney mentioned to Justin that he was her life partner. Calling each other “life partner” was something that the two have often said to one another. Justin then asked her if she officially wanted to lock in as his life partner and be his wife.