Tender-hearted, committed, beautiful. These are the words that Abe uses to describe his WIFE Lynsey. Hard-working, goofy, passionate… her description of him. Lynsey was in her sophomore year at Point Loma Nazarene University when she met Abe. He graduated a few years ahead of her and ended up leading a mission trip to Rwanda that she participated in. Lynsey said there were rules about romantic relationships on the trip, of course, but they started talking after they got back. Abe pursued her and they started dating two weeks before he moved out to Kansas City to attend Nazarene Theological Seminary while she still had two years left at PLNU, and the rest is history! They describe their relationship as one that strives to put the other before themselves as well as using the words “super fun and super honest.” Abe says it’s made him grow more than he ever has before.

The Venue: 

Saddleback Church is an evangelical Christian megachurch with multiple sites across California. The church was founded by Pastor (and author) Rick Warren. The campus was a photographer’s dream: gorgeous buildings, lush foliage among the hills and a serene lake.

How he proposed (told by Lynsey):

Abe was in Seattle working around Thanksgiving. He told me that he planned a hiking trip with some friends who lived there and was then coming down to San Diego to spend Thanksgiving with my family. However, the weekend before Thanksgiving was Homecoming for Point Loma and was also my dad’s 30th reunion so my family was there for the weekend. During the week leading up to the Saturday, I had lunch with Abe’s sister and she told me that her mom was coming down for a nurse’s thing that weekend… I didn’t connect the dots at all. I got thinking about how dumb Abe was that he was going to be missing his mom! Instead, his parents and brother made the trip down from NorCal and planned a reception for after he proposed. I had no idea that Abe planned a huge surprise engagement for that day as well as getting some of my closest friends in on everything! 

My mom drove me down to Finch Hall, where there are stairs that lead up to the Alumni Lawn (the same place where Abe asked me to be his girlfriend the summer before). There stood two of my friends (now bridesmaids) and two of Abe’s friends (now groomsmen) as well as Abe waiting for me. The first thing I said when I got out of the car was “You’re supposed to be hiking!”. Abe led me up the stairs and had stations of our relationship with pictures and sunflowers (my favorite flower). Then he led me to the bench and popped the question! After we prayed together and had a little time to ourselves, he invited my family and friends out to greet us. We headed to El Cajon to the reception he planned with his family and other friends from our team. It was an amazing surprise! 

The Ceremony:

Abe’s grandpa shared some things for the audience to get to know the bride and groom right before the processional. All the elements they incorporated into the ceremony really made it special (sand, foot washing and Communion with all the guests).

Because we live so far apart, her wedding was the first time I ever met Lynsey (talk about trust!). The great thing about it though, is that she is moving to Kansas City soon so we can easily stay in touch. Since I’ve only been here a couple years and we don’t have a lot of close friends yet, I’m always excited about the possibility of new people to do life with! 

Fun fact: the couple’s host from Rwanda prayed for the meal at the reception… how special is that?!? One of the best two moments of the whole day was after the father/daughter and mother/son dances when they asked ALL fathers/daughters and all mothers/sons to join them on the dance floor. I have never seen so much love in one place 🙂

Lynsey says one of her favorite things about Abe is his laugh. He says that among many things, he loves her eyes <3

Huge shoutout to all the other vendors who made this perfect day happen:

Wedding coordinator – Sarah Beutel

Florist – Megan Duren mariafabulousflowers.com

Cake – Elizabeth Zwicker http://a-little-something-sweet.blogspot.com/

Officiant – Rev. Rick Powers (Abe’s father!)

Bridal dress – Ferndales Bridal http://ferndalesbridal.com/

Bridesmaid Dresses – Ever-Pretty http://ever-pretty.com/us

Bride’s Shoes – Nordstrom

Tux Rental – Macy’s

Caterer – Saddleback Eateries

DJ – Chris Swartz (Lynsey’s cousin!) https://www.facebook.com/ChrisPaul-574422799331530/?pnref=lhc

Videographer – Maddy Trattles https://www.instagram.com/traddymaddles/