We start with sophomore sweethearts that didn’t even know it yet…well, one knew it in his first weeks of enrolling at St. David’s School. Telling a girl you love her is one of the Top-Two scariest things a young man can do, the other being a “proposal” for the fall homecoming dance. Let’s just say our groom conquered his fears quickly in those first weeks. A great night of conversing and dancing resulted in TWO, yes two, Instagram posts from Patterson for the (homecoming) proposal and the actual night of the dance.

High school is hard for young love, and the Lord preached patience in that time for Jack and Patterson. He preached so much patience, that it took until junior year of college for them to find their way back to each other. Thanks to UNC and the North Carolina Study Center, there was a rekindling of their old memories and good conversations that were thought to be lost to time. Those conversations were still good, and they began to make new memories with each other everywhere they went. From the farmlands of central Virginia, to the heights of Colorado, and all the way back to their home of North Carolina, Jack and Patterson kept coming back to each other.

Personally, I like to sit back and think that across all these years, they would look back at each other and know they held the other’s Heart on a String. Through the sweet, smooth harmonies of Tedeschi Trucks Band and the rattles of wedding reception tambourines, these two hopeless romantics found their song in each other. That kind of feeling is so special to have, and I know each of them will cherish it, long after their own reception.

It’s a joy to know these individuals, and I know I speak for all of those who love Jack and Patterson when I pray that the Lord might bless their time together on earth with strength, gratitude, and a united, Christ-like love.