Devan & Liz | The Heart Grow Fond

It was an unlikely romance that budded at a gas station in North Dakota. The suave gentleman with the English accent couldn't get over the sweet blonde girl with the smiling eyes and infectious giggle behind the counter. Proper customs aside he found himself telling her that he really liked her. She giggled her sweet giggle, and quickly found herself swept away into the best friendship of a lifetime. Day after day, week after week, they found every opportunity to spend their moments together. Enjoying life, enjoying friendship, enjoying laughter. Until that tear-filled day when he bid her goodbye and boarded a plane back to his homeland. South Africa held a piece of her heart and there was no promise of it returning to her in the foreseeable future. For months the two of them lost sleep, burnt out their laptops, and lived every day for the sound of each other's voices, that small connection so big with love, unhindered by the miles of land and sea between them.

Love was their destiny, but the journey proved to be unscripted and unexpected. When Devan uncovered an opportunity to visit the plains of North Dakota again, his girl Liz was right there waiting eagerly for him. That first embrace was confirmation enough that another day apart would be a tragedy. Absence had bonded their hearts, presence had yielded the reality of their love. With the closest of family in the most intimate of ceremonies they joined their lives together on the 31st day of May, 2014. For better or worse.

A year passed, and a lot of the pieces to the puzzle of their forever love fell together. Slowly. Piece by complicated little piece. Devan became a permanent resident of the United States just days before his loving parents came to meet his new bride. A celebration of their marriage and the joy of family was in order. Friends and family from near and far came together to congratulate this amazing couple and their steadfast love.

It was truly an honor to be among them. I entered the reception building as a last minute hired professional--a stranger, essentially. I had to ask the nearest staff member to point out the bride to me. I left that evening with new friends. They are just so loving and amazing that way. And the really cool thing was that on top of the couple both having amazingly sweet families, Liz has a brother Zac too. And he is just like my brother Zack.

Expect the unexpected, my friends. Hold out for for love--the truest of kinds. And never for a single second stop believing. If you're one of those still skeptical about love at first sight, you haven't met Devan & Liz.