Grant grew up in Orlando but wanted to find a new city to call home after graduating from college in the spring of 2021. Grant moved to Tampa for a job, and being new in his faith, began attending South Tampa Fellowship. Margaret, born and raised in Tampa, had just graduated from college in the spring of 2022 and moved back to Tampa.

When Grant arrived to Tampa in 2021, he hardly knew anyone and was about a year into being serious about his relationship with Jesus. After about six months, he decided to reach out to a friend and begin attending church regularly. From there, he began to meet new friends and build a strong community. In 2022, when Margaret was back home in Tampa, she began attending her parents church. Grant and Margaret met for the first time at South Tampa Fellowship, thanks to the young adult ministry and a community group that Grant was Co-Leading.

Margaret caught Grant's eye very quickly, and this began his debate on whether or not he should ask her on date. After some time passed and with a mission trip that both of them were going on quickly approaching, Grant had a decision to make. Ask her out before the trip or after the trip. Thanks to a couple friends convincing him to do it before, Grant called Margaret and asked her if she would like to go to Dairy Joy that same night. She agreed! After a few more dates, and hours of getting to know each other, they departed for the mission trip to the Dominican Republic! Over the course of that week, they shared their stories with one another, grew to know each others heart for the Lord, and were attached at the hip. Grant asked Margaret to be his girlfriend on the way home from the airport after the trip concluded.

August 3rd, 2024

After a year and a half of dating, Grant got down on one knee! They planned on going to Little Gasparilla Island for the weekend with four of their closest friends, when a tropical storm began brewing. They quickly changed plans and pivoted to a beach much closer to home! Grant had his plan and was going to propose regardless of the weather - why wait? On Saturday, August 3rd, they had a normal day spending time on the beach, floating in the gulf, and enjoying time away with their friends. That night, they were planning on taking maternity photos for one of their friends but it turned out they were not doing that at all! They walked out onto the beach, and Grant handed Margaret a note he had written. After Margaret finished reading the thoughtful note, Grant got down on one knee and asked Margaret to be his wife. She said yes, of course (even through all of her tears), and they celebrated with great dinner with their friends.

After two years of dating and now being in the midst of engagement, we can confidently say our love story would not be possible without the presence of the Lord in each of our lives. The Lord's timing is perfect. He brought us together at the perfect time and has brought us closer to Him and to His church. Our prayer would be that the Lord would always be at the center of our marriage, and that He would continue to write our story forever.