Salida Colorado Adventure Elopement Wedding | Andy and Jill Akin
You know those people you meet and have an immediate connection with? For me and Jill, this was the case before we even met! From the first time I heard from Jill via e-mail, I knew we just had to play a part in their story. Her initial message was one filled with love and sincere appreciation for she and fiancé Andy’s long journey to each other. As she described their Colorado Adventure Elopement coming up in just a few short months, her fervor was contagious and we immediately scheduled our coffee date!
I wanted to share our first e-mail, because upon reading our blogs, she knew immediately that we appreciate an epic love story:
“I want to share our story with you because it is a special one. Andy & I emailed on a dating site in summer of 2012. I only stayed on that site (or any other dating site) for 2 weeks & then went back to the real world. We never met at that time, only exchanged emails during the 2 weeks that I was on the site. We both went on to spend the next 5 years happily single & to separately do all of the things that bind us today- hike, camp, kayak, ride bikes, & travel the world. Most of time we were within miles of each other, as we both love our Smoky Mountains & spend much time there. Also in the meantime, in December of 2012, my friend asked me, as a gift to her, to write down all of the things that I desired in a life partner. Being solidly single, I reluctantly did this & then stored that list on a shelf for over 5 years.”
“Five years later, in summer of 2017, Andy shows up at my studio door as a “client.” He’d booked an appointment unbeknownst to me to meet the girl who was still on his mind after 5 years…and in the end we found out why. God had been giving him direction for 5 years, but Andy was following his own will. Until one day when he just told himself, “I’m going to meet this girl just to get it over with so that I can move on from it.” Well, we’re moving on, alright- TOGETHER! After Date #1 (which was 13 1/2 hours, but who’s counting?), I was packing away some items from my bookshelf & ran across the list that my friend had asked me to make. And I got chills as I read the extensive list & realized that I ALREADY KNEW AFTER ONE DATE that Andy met all but 2 of the things on the list. Date #2 sent my heart aflutter because the last 2 items on the list were revealed to me & checked off. This man was TRULY my heart’s desire, the man of my dreams. This was completely unexpected for both of us given our ages & amazing single lives that we staunchly led, but there was no denying that he was designed for me and I for him. We knew that we would be married & that our lives were going to expand in unfathomable & thus far unimagineable ways. We are 37 & 47, neither of us have been married, and neither of us have children. When we told our families & friends that we’d met the person we were going to marry, PURE SHOCK was running loose in Tennessee! No two were more shocked than Andy & I. We still are.”
“He proposed in January, COMPLETELY surprising me! I was so caught off guard that when he asked, even though he was down on his knee (both knees actually!) I asked, “Are you serious?” He WAS serious, and I said, “YES, OF COURSE!” & jumped all around. Now we are simply READY TO BE MR. & MRS. and get started on the incredible journey ahead.”
Their story truly is an inspirational one and we’re thrilled we got to play a role in capturing their Colorado Adventure Elopement memories! Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Akin! We adore y’all and can’t wait to see you in Colorado again!
Cheers,
Taylor and Mike
