Both of us, individually, were content for many years being single. Then God put the deisre in each of our hearts to seek marriage - before we even knew of each other.
When we did finally meet, we knew that - if it was of God, He would have to work out all the dedtails. 255 miles apart was not going to make things ideal!
Dan and Pat were only able to get time together on the weekends. On a few occasions, Pat was able to come to Cape Coral and visit Dan. The other weekends, Dan would leave his workplace in Naples (300 miles South) and spend the weekend up in Gainesville. Jeff & Cindy (Pat's Son-in-law & Daughter)were gracious enough to open up there home for Dan to stay there on Friday and Saturday nights.
Because Dan has only been in Florida for 5 years and Pat has lived in Gainesville since her school years, it only seemed natural that Dan would relocate to Gainesville. In addition, Pat's two children, John & Cindy, also live in Gainesville.
When Dan & Pat were not together on the weekends, there were the nightly phone calls."Reach out and touch someone" may be a good marketing line but it's definately not the same as being there. Never-the-less, we are grateful for those free cell minutes. That alone could have been quite expensive.
Almost a year after getting to know one another, Dan finally asked Pat to marry him. That was last October 20th. Dan is the first to say that he had NO idea about all the preparation that would go into making a wedding happen. On more than one occasion, Dan let the word "elope" slip out of his mouth.
Pat was determined to have a time of celebration (via the wedding ceremony) for what God has done in bringing them together. We remain united in that goal.
Every weekend has been full and there is still much to get done. Please pray for us that our love will continue to grow and that God will be glorified through these (sometimes stressful) days leading up to our "Special Day". The "ups and Downs" is kind of a forerunner to marriage itself, huh?
We are so blessed for the people that have been helping us. What would any of us do without our family and friends!
The church where Pat was a member was not large enough for our ceremony, so we had to seek another option. Therefore, the ceremony will take place at Covenant Presbyterian Church - a short distance from Pat's home. Pat was familiar with the church after she attended a friend's wedding there not too many years ago.
Dan's brother will officiate the ceremony. Michael is a licensed Minister of the Gospel and graduated from Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary. His very talented wife, Wendy, will be our pianist. Pat's longtime friend, Dian, will also add her vocal talents during the ceremony.
Our desire is that God would be glorified in all that we do - not just during the ceremony but before and after as well!
Even though the sanctuary at Covenant was more than adequate in size, they could not accomodate the reception. We located a lovely reception hall at Kanapaha Presbyterian Church - a few minutes away. We will have maps for you after the Wedding ceremony to facilitate your getting there easily. The church has a historic sanctuary and recently built a new fellowship hall in the same architectural style. We are sure to have a great time!
Our purpose in going through the multiple details of a wedding is to share with you, our friends and relatives, the goodness of God in the joining of our lives together "as one in the Lord".
We have been very blessed by the help of others in getting us to that moment. We will be further blessed by your joining with us in this "Our Special Day." We know that some of you will be coming a good distance to be with us and we are very grateful. We THANK YOU in advance for your participation.
For those that can not make it to Gainesville, you will be missed and we are so grateful for your being a part of our lives.
May God richly bless you!
