Distance: for Rochelle and myself this is a most familiar word. Our entire story is one of distance. Our paths started out in 2 very different places. Hers began in sunny Chino Hills located in southern California. Mine was rainy Seattle, Washington. The summer of 2008 brought us both to a camp in northern California that neither of us planned on attending. I had never been to this camp before; however, some of my friends had. Rochelle had come on 2 previous years. My friends and I decided to do a road trip to the camp. Thanks to laptops and DVD's our caravan missed our exit by 90 miles! Needless to say we arrived to the camp about 3 hours late. This gave our little caravan the spotlight as the joke of the week. That evening changed my life forever. As we all gathered to listen to my best friend give a talk and relate our travel adventures, I looked around the crowd for familiar faces. Exactly opposite to me was a beautiful young lady who happened to be looking around as well. What happened next can only be described as love at first sight. Our eyes locked, and in that instant I knew that she was going to be my future wife. Our very souls seemed to connect through looks and conversation that we shared over the next few days. We became best friends overnight. Camp ended and "distance" reared it's ugly head. A thousand miles is difficult to traverse easily on a regular basis! Every night since then, we talked on the phone or would video chate via skype. We would count down the hours till our next week long visit that always was followed by several long months of separation. Finally December of 09 brought me down to California with a ring! Engagement was a beautiful time. The 2 weeks together were the best of our lives. When the time arrived for us to be separated again, it was almost too much to bear. School loomed before her and a new job awaited me. October seems so far away... Distance is our greatest adversary. However, it has turned into one of the best things for both of us. Most people did not think our relationship could last. On the contrary, distance forced us to appreciate each other so much more. Because we lacked the ability to do all of the things a typical couple gets to do, we made up for it with heart to heart conversations. This has forged a knowledge and understanding of each other that is priceless. We are looking forward to our wedding. For us the best part will be that distance removed! To finally be able to hold one another in a loving embrace and not have to think of the pending separation a few days from then will be our greatest joy at our wedding.

We are looking forward to sharing this special event with each and every one of you. Thank you for your love and support. Your friendships mean so much to us!