(ROCKWALL, TX — January 29, 2018) Austin and I each remember the day we met a little bit differently. It was the Rockwall Founders Day Festival at Harry Myers Park, just a few weeks into one of my summer breaks from college. I was interning as a part time staff reporter for Blue Ribbon News, so I was snapping away at all of the usual festivities: bounce houses, fried foods, and smiling kids. All of a sudden, I spotted somebody else with a great big camera lens on his face. He was tall, with wild spiky hair. When he lowered his lens, I couldn’t help but notice that he was a pretty handsome dude with bright blue eyes.
Austin was reporting on Founders Day for BRN too, and although we had read some of each other’s articles before, we’d never really crossed paths since I tended to work remotely. We quickly struck up a conversation and started casually wandering the festival together discussing photography. Then disaster struck. When Austin stopped to talk to someone for a few minutes, I started taking pictures of some kids doing a karate demonstration. When I turned around, he was gone! I assumed he didn’t want to get stuck talking to a silly college girl for the rest of the day and went back to work.
Austin, on the other hand, swears the same thing happened to him. One minute he was chatting, then he turned around and I was the one who ditched him. Both of us shrugged it off, and our paths didn’t cross again that summer as we covered different things. But thankfully, God wasn’t finished writing our story.
The next summer, I returned to continue reporting for Blue Ribbon News. But this time I would be working in-office, where Austin had just taken on his new role as Editor. I remember shaking hands with him on my first day and wondering if he remembered the Founders Day Fiasco. His hair wasn’t spiky anymore, but his eyes were still just as strikingly blue.
That summer we worked closely on the newspaper together, and I discovered how special Austin was. That he jumped at every opportunity to help others. That he was more than just friendly, he was truly patient, considerate, and generous. We realized we were both Harry Potter fans and started discussing the books together. When Half Price Books hosted a midnight release party for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, we both dressed up in costumes when we went to cover it for the newspaper. I guess that extra dose of nerdiness sealed the deal for Austin, because he asked me on our first date exactly one week later.
We got married in September 2017, just a few months ago. (We had Harry Potter cake toppers as a nod to our humble beginnings and our love for the books.) When I think about the moments that led up to us falling in love and eventually pledging to spend our lives together, I’m thankful that God had plans bigger than my limited understanding.
In this Valentine’s Day issue of Blue Ribbon News, you’ll find several pages of love stories submitted to us by couples from all over Rockwall County. Each one is unique and precious in its own way, and we are so excited to celebrate the season of love by sharing them with you. We had such an overwhelmingly large number of submissions this year that we had to pick only a few for the paper. But you can find all of them online at BlueRibbonNews.com.
We wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day from everyone on the Blue Ribbon News team.
By Julie Anne Wells, Blue Ribbon News. Photo by Clay Taylor Photography.
Reporter’s Note: Our Love Story added by Austin on
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