Our Love Story

In honor of wedding planning season and our wedding website officially launching and slowly being sent out to our guests, I thought I would share what we wrote under the “Our Story” tab right here on my website! We decided to document both perspectives of our story, so you’re in for a real treat! :)

MODERN COLONIALISM: JACK'S POV

On the 5th December 2013 a young English boy traveled many miles, leaving his home country in search of fame, fortune and because his parents said so. The destination: AMERICA. The land of opportunity. The land of the free. The land of not pronouncing the h in herb. First task? Make friends with the locals. The first mention of al-u-min-ee-um wins everyone over. Success. After a few regrettable relationships in 6 months, enter stage left Olivia Kolkana.

Ladies and gentlemen, our young squire Master Coning was instantly shaken and slightly stirred. Olivia Kolkana was in a league of her own, she ticked every single box. ALL OF THEM. So, the young Englishman tactfully moved his chair closer and closer until meaningful conversation during Geometry was inevitable.

Conversation developed, snapchats were sent, facetime was faced. The sparks were flying and the friendship was forming. 3 months of concerts, late-night talks, and really large family events and BOOM. May 19th 2014.

Thus begins a tale of the ages. A tale of love, growth and spending too much (not enough) money on travel and ice cream. The young couple travels across North America and Europe, developing a deep appreciation of everything this diverse world has to offer. Fast forward six years of laughs, tears and Jack saying dumb things that Liv usually laughed at (a miracle I know) and we arrive in Discovery Park, Seattle, June 22nd of 2020.

A pandemic is not the only thing raging passionately, as shown by our protagonist as he gets down on one sandy knee and seeks to tie the knot. In that very moment there was no one as happy and oblivious to the world as our dear boy Jack Coning.

The only thing that mattered was right in front of him. And she said yes.

A ROM-COM-TURNED-REALITY: OLIVIA'S POV

If you would have told me 6.5 years ago that I would be engaged to a British boy, I would have turned around and asked you which hoaxy rom-com filled your head with these wild and unrealistic fantasies. But, as it turns out, you are reading this today because I am now marrying this said British boy (who completely turned my life around- by the way).

I don't quite know if Jack knew what he was getting into the first day he walked into my geometry class. My best friend Alyssa gave me the impeccably good advice to hang back and NOT be one of the zillion girls who begged him to say aluminum. Before class, I would run into the bathroom and straighten my shirt and fix my hair just to try and impress him. Almost a year later, Jack would tell me how he used to hurry to geometry and scoot his desk a wee bit closer to mine before I came in.

We started out as friends, but I think we both knew what the term "skinny love" meant, we just never wanted to admit it. Eventually, we created this thing we called "song of the day" in which every day I would send Jack a song to listen to and vice versa. That was the main catalyst of our friendship, music. Good music.

Three months later, when I was sick and I begged my mom to drive me over to Jack's house so we could study for finals together, he kissed me. On May 19th, 2014, the fantastic adventure of Jack & Liv began.

Jack came into my life when I was not at all the person I wanted to be. I was broken, depressed, a heaping mess of a thing. But instead of walking away, he showed up at my house with a stuffed animal fox from Ikea, and he helped me rebuild myself. His gentle, calm spirit was (and is) the perfect balance to my fiery, chaotic soul, and I realized that he was my answered prayer, even though he might not have known it yet. Jack chose to walk alongside me as I transitioned into finding who I was, and so in return, I gave him my heart.

I remember when we used to text each other "love ya" in a friendly kind of way, and I remember the slow and steady transition into "I love you" in a sincere, delicate, vulnerable, real kind of way. I knew when he said it, he meant it.

Since then, it's been 6.5 years of learning what it means to grow alongside one another. It's been learning the danger of completing someone over being their divine compliment. Through the years, I have learned that love is nothing more than two flawed humans, swept up in life's perpetual, unforeseen circumstances, choosing one another. day after day. after day.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Although we are not the same people as those two awkward kids in geometry class, growing up with Jack has been 1000 grand adventures. It's been concerts and cries. Early flights and late nights watching tv. Galavanting around Europe, lots of coffee dates, transitions, trips to Seattle. There's crying and making up, hard conversations, compromise, long distance, sacrifice, tears, arguments, and growth. 6 years of transformation— yet one thing remains unaltered. I love you, my darling Jack. Endlessly, forever, and always. And I can't wait to be your wife.

Our Love Story (from both POVs)

Our Love Story

MODERN COLONIALISM: JACK'S POV

A ROM-COM-TURNED-REALITY: OLIVIA'S POV