Joe and I first met 5 1/2 years ago through a mutual friend. At first there was no attraction between us and we didn't really hit it off. My initial thought of him was that he was loud, obnoxious and hairy. He had long hair and a full beard. I was only 18 and use to high school boys with their peach fuzz. Joe was 22. Half the time Joe didn't realize that I existed because he was interested in our mutual friend. He says his first impression of me was that I was too quite and he didn't like the fact that I wore tie dye shirts. It took about 6 months for us to finally start talking to each other and to get to know one another. Then Joe asked me on a date. I said yes. I was nervous about it though because of our age difference. I cancelled our date together only one night before we were supposed to go to dinner. He was upset and ready to forget about me, but his friend talked him in to giving me another chance, so he did and asked me out again. I said yes. We took things very slow at first and started out as friends. We weren't sure if our relationship would grow in to anything serious, but we decided to give love a chance.

The more we got to know each other, the more we became inseparable. Joe and I are complete opposites in almost every way, but somehow we just work. We really balance each other out. We have stuck together through the good times and the bad (mostly good) and our love has grown even stronger because of it. As it turns out, first impressions are not always as they seem! We are so excited for what the future holds for us and cannot wait to spend the rest of our lives together. We have the full support and love from both of our families.

I am a full time student at Eastern and Joe is a journeyman plumber. He supports us right now while I am in school, but plans to start school as soon as I finish. With our current situation it is very hard to save any money for a wedding and our families have very little to chip in. We have spent many hours searching on the internet for the perfect wedding venue, but unfortunately they are all way out of our price range. We have thought about putting our wedding off for another year or two, but are really ready to get married now. The Chateau Rive is our absolute dream venue, but we will never be able to afford it on our own. It would be such a blessing and dream come true if we won this contest. We truly appreciate every vote that comes our way.

Thanks for reading our story!