Our Love Story: Part 1

David and I met a few years before our love story really began. We went to a small private christian high school and had always known of each other. There were only 300 people total in our whole high school so it was pretty easy to keep track of everyone. David is 2 years older than me. He was a senior when I was just a young little sophomore. The very first interaction I remember with him was on a snowy December day at a community service project. Our local news station had a large food drive for the holidays called KTVB Cares Day.

We were there to sort food into bins as cars dropped by. David was in my group. While sorting food, we began talking and David told me he loved Mumford & Sons. Naturally, I loved Mumford & Sons too, and it was love at first sight in the December snow! Just like a Hallmark movie come true! Just kidding. But really, most high school boys didn’t have an appreciation for real music–like anything other than top hits from the radio–and I liked that David did.

I had always known David was a really great, morally upstanding guy and admired him from afar. He was the kind of guy who was nice to everyone. I knew we shared the same values and had a lot in common. After the great Mumford & Sons revelation of 2013, I went home from the service project and told my mom,”I’d like to marry David Elliott. He’s not just the kind of guy you date just to date; he’s like the kind of guy you marry!” Naturally, my mom listened kindly as she always did when I would come home with rants from school, but I’m certain neither of us thought anything of it. Time passed by and nothing happened. Not only was David older, but he also had a girlfriend at the time, so there was negative 100% chance that anything would happen.

Let’s fast forward 2 years later. I was now a junior in high school and David a freshman at Boise State. He received an athletic scholarship to play golf which is really the only thing that kept him in Boise. Over Thanksgiving break, he got together with his friends that had come home from college to go Black Friday shopping. I was also out with my friends shopping. As we were out, we ran into each other. Our friends stopped to talk for maybe a minute at best and then continued on. I just couldn’t get over the fact that I had run into David. Just a couple weeks before, I had been thinking about David and wondering what might have happened if we ever crossed paths again.

The Infamous Tweet

You may not believe this, but I promise this is just how crazy I was as a high school girl. I wrote a tweet back in the day when “subtweeting” was a big deal. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, “subtweeting” was essentially tweeting about people but never tagging them and leaving everyone to wonder who your tweet was actually directed at. It was the pinnacle of most high school drama at the time. I shared the tweet to the left two weeks before I had even run into David!

Years later, we came to find out David screen-shotted this tweet wondering if it was about him! Naturally, I saw our mall meeting as fate and decided to take matters into my own hands. I would never ever initiate conversations with boys, but this was different. This was worth at least giving a shot. So I sent David a message and a conversation sparked.

We talked for a couple months becoming friends, and both of us knew we wanted it to go somewhere deeper. However, the problem remained that I was only a junior in high school, and he was in college. After texting non-stop for a couple months, I finally gave David an ultimatum. I was a bit sassier in my high school days (well, maybe that depends on who you ask!). I gave him two options. He either needed to take me to coffee and actually talk to me in person, or stop talking to me altogether.

The Worst First Date in History

It was New Years Eve, the final day of 2013, and also the final chance to see if anything was ever going to happen between David and I. I woke up at 9:30, just 30 minutes before I was supposed to be at the coffee shop we had planned to meet at. I lived at least 20 minutes away from the coffee shop, and to make matters worse, I needed another 30 minutes (at minimum) to get ready! I sprinted around the house searching for the outfit I had so carefully picked out and stressed over–an army green jacket and brown combat boots–my signature look of 2013. I was already a nervous wreck as I did my best to fix my appearance in half the amount of time I needed.

As I sped downtown in my little red Nissan Sentra, I sat nervously. David was already at the coffee shop waiting. I walked into Flying M coffeehouse to see David sitting at a table sipping water. Ironically, David doesn’t even like or drink coffee at all. I said hello and ordered a white chocolate mocha. As we sat down, the awkwardness filled the air around us. David prides himself in being comfortable in almost any situation. I, on the other hand, have mild social anxiety, overthink every situation to the maximum, and play out the worst case scenario in my head.  My nose was sweating profusely, thanks to a combination of what happens when I drink hot coffee and feel anxious.

As if my nervousness and anxiety were not bad enough, we had nothing to talk about. We had texted for months, already asking each other questions about family, hobbies, or any typical first date question. We made small chit chat for what felt like an eternity but was really only a few minutes. Then David had to head out for a New Years Eve party in McCall.

Believe it or not, that’s how our love story began. At this point, you’re probably wondering, “So how on earth did you end up getting married?!” It get’s better, I promise. Check in next Monday for Part 2! Thanks for reading along!

If you liked this, you may also like Our Love Story: Part 2 , Our Love Story: Part 3, The Top 10 Things I Learned from Our Wedding Day, and 5 Reasons Why I Became a Wedding Photographer