It had been raining the entire week. Every day was overcast and gloomy, and the sun hadn’t been seen in days. The morning of their wedding day, Cristie and Carter woke up to a torrential downpour. Lightening flashed and thunder boomed as buckets of rain made their way to the earth. They looked out the window and sighed… Would the rain ever let up?

And so they prayed.

Their day was finally here. The day they had been waiting for their whole lives. The day where they would come before their friends, families and the Lord and join together as one. The day she had dreamed of as a little girl. The day he had been preparing for for years! The day when she would dress in white as she met her groom at the end of the aisle. They day they would get to represent the Church joining with her Groom – Christ.

And so they prayed.

They prayed for the rain to let up. They prayed for their future together. They prayed that the gospel would shine through the day. They prayed for the people coming. And they prayed that the Lord would be glorified no matter what.

Then, just two hours before their wedding was going to start, the rain eased up and the clouds began to part. You could hear family members all around the house calling to one another “The sun’s coming out!” and “Oh Cristie the SUN is shining!”
And you couldn’t wipe the grin off Cristie and Carter’s faces.

Because it was almost time to get married.
And they were ready to surprise all their guests with the news.

No one outside of their immediate family knew what was going to happen that day. Carter and Cristie had gotten engaged on her birthday just a couple of months prior to their wedding day, but they didn’t tell anyone. No one had any idea what they had been scheming behind the scenes all throughout the holidays and new year. They thought they were showing up to a surprise proposal when in reality THEY were the ones who were getting surprised!

And the looks on their faces were priceless when they figured out what was going on.

The tears streaming down the cheeks of childhood friends and the ear to ear grins on everyone’s face were testament to how truly delighted they were for the bride and groom. It was such a special moment, and Cristie sighed a breath of relief when the time to walk down the aisle finally arrived.

They DID IT! They had been able to keep it a secret for MONTHS, and it had all paid off!
What an amazing feeling.

And the rest of the day was like a dream. The sun shone through the trees as Carter and Cristie said their vows and pledged their lives to each other. Their friends hugged, congratulated and laughed along with them as they celebrated. Jokes were shared, stories were told and tears were shed.

I’ve never met such genuine people before. Carter and Cristie are truly amazing, and seeing how their faith was lived out through their lives – the things they did, the words they said and how they obviously loved the Lord with their whole hearts – was the highlight of the wedding for me. I couldn’t stop smiling the entire evening, and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to not only meet these amazing people, but share in the incredible SURPRISE WEDDING they pulled off. I cannot wait to see how God continues to use their lives to share his Gospel to the world.
It was truly a beautiful day.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Ganss!!