On August 28, 2002, we met for the very first time. It was 8:00 am Monday morning when Julia walked into the doors of our very first studio class at Columbus College of Art and Design. It was our drawing class so our seats formed a circle around the room, and Julia took a seat directly across from Marshall.We soon realized that we had almost every class together that year, so we had the chance to see a lot of each other. Because of that, we became very good friends, and not before long, we fell in love. We were inseparable.
Years passed and we graduated. We had made so many wonderful memories together in Columbus, Ohio, but Marshall’s career in photography and Julia's in product design led us to the East Coast.
We literally grew up together in Ohio, and have spent the last few years learning the meaning of love, and how unconditional our love is for one another. We have spent the last few years traveling and exploring the world together.
In 2008, we traveled to Rome, Italy to visit Marshall's good friend Diego. Italy has been one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen in our lives. We enjoyed every aspect of that vacation. It was more than we could have ever had imagined.
When we started thinking of wedding venues, we pretty much looked everywhere, but for us nothing seemed to compare to Italy. Ironically, a link to a website was sent to Marshall and there was a picture of this pool, and the backdrop was exactly what we had imagined for our wedding. Marshall quickly realized that this image was taken in Italy at Hotel Caruso Belevedere.
As a result, Marshall was off (the romantic that he is), to visit that very hotel. He had to make sure it was as beautiful as the picture before we made any final decisions. Marshall said, “This is it. We’re done searching. It’s perfect.”
So 8 years to the very day that we met, we are to be married in Ravello, Italy on August 28, 2010. That day will be the most important day of our lives to the date.
