Missy & Amanda

Today's the day we introduce to you our finalists for our Free Wedding Photography contest!  Yay!  After reading through all of the submissions we have narrowed it down to two lovely couples with wonderful stories to share with you! 

To vote for your favorite, please comment below!  Voting will be open until July 27th at 7 p.m!  Good luck to both contestants!  We are really excited about this!

Meet Missy & Amanda, here is their story!

It all started in January of last year. I knew I was gay, and had just come out to my parents a few months before. We hadn't really talked much about it, but it was out there on the table. I decided that I wasn't going to find the woman of my dreams, or any woman to date for that matter, by just going to the bar in small town Nebraska. I got up the courage to join an online dating website, fill out the profile, answer the questions, upload the best pictures of myself I could find, and pay for a 6 month membership.

Weeks went by and I had a few matches here and there to look at, but nobody that really caught my eye. That is until I saw Amanda's picture come up on my list of matches. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and her eyes had me hooked right off the bat. I read her profile, noticed she was from a town just across the river from St. Louis, and decided to send a "wink" to her just to see if I would have any luck and get anything back. I was just getting ready to walk into a concert with my youngest sister on March 18 when I got an email saying that Amanda had winked back. I had to have had a smile as wide as my head when I read that. I didn't do anything with it until the next day when I could actually get to a computer. I sent her three questions and waited for her response. She responded, and sent three questions back. As I answered her questions, my heart raced. I was just ecstatic that this gorgeous woman was even taking time to communicate with me through these predetermined questions! Once we got past the questions, and going over the things we have to have in a relationship/partner to the things that are a complete deal breaker, we started sending short little emails back and forth. Basic questions that we hadn't already covered, small talk, and not really getting very personal. She sent me her phone number and wanted to text because she was going to be out of the house and just thought it would be easier that way. I sent her a text right away. From then, we exchanged texts and an occasional phone call, and still emailed back and forth a little bit, too.

This went on for a couple of weeks when she emailed me and apologized saying that she couldn't pour her whole heart into whatever relationship we may have because she had a lot going on personally and emotionally at the moment, and it made her feel horrible. I was devastated. I read the email over and over, and finally the next morning I replied. I simply let her know that I didn't want to lose her, and that I would always be there for her if she ever needed anybody to talk to about anything. I never got a reply from that email, but a few days later I sent her a text just letting her know I was thinking about her. It took a few hours, but she responded with small talk. Basically asking how I had been, and thank you for the sweet email, and again apologizing. I asked her if she wanted me to wait until she was ready to be in a relationship, and all she told me was that it wouldn't be fair of her to ask me to do that. She never told me to leave her alone, or go away or anything like that so I kept pursuing her.

We started talking more, just as friends, and one night I promised her that we would meet before the end of May. I knew I had to meet this woman who had caught my eye, and was quickly capturing my heart. I stopped by the flower shop and picked up two red roses that morning, and left around 11:00 A.M. on May 26, 2012 to start the 8 hour drive to Alton, Illinois. She had to work until about 8:00 that evening, and I got to the hotel a little after 7:00 P.M. and anxiously waited for her. When she called and said she was off work, and would be to the hotel in about 30 minutes, my heart began to pound so vigorously I thought my chest was going to explode. My breath caught in my chest, and I paced in front of the doors on the sidewalk, waiting and waiting for what felt like an eternity for the little blue Chevy Cobalt to pull into the parking lot. I paced, I looked, I paced, I looked, and then I paced some more. Finally, after 3 cigarettes and all of 20 minutes maybe, I saw the car I was so anxiously waiting for. It pulled up in front of the hotel, and there she was in the passenger seat. Just as beautiful as her picture was. And she was there to see me. I just stood there. I was frozen solid. She got out of the car and I caught my breath so I could walk toward her. She threw her arms around my neck, and gave me our first kiss. A quick peck on the lips, but it was our first kiss. I held her with my arms wrapped tightly around her waist. I was in heaven. We ate dinner and then went to where a big block party was happening in the middle of downtown. Loud music, games, drinks, and the perfect woman holding my hand, leading me around the festivities. We finished the night out at her favorite bar before we went back to our hotel. It's a gay bar that has drag shows every weekend. I had never been to a gay bar, let alone a drag show. It was hilarious and so much fun! The next day we went out to a creek in the middle of nowhere, cell phone service wasn't even a thought, and celebrated one of her friend’s birthdays. The day went by quickly, and on our way back to the hotel, "I Don't Want This Night To End," by Luke Bryan came on the radio. It couldn't have been more true, because I had to leave for home the next day. It was the hardest "see you later" that I have ever had. I just kept telling her that with every passing day we were one day closer to the next time we'd see each other. I fought back tears when she walked away from the car that day, and she did too. It would be another two months before we would see each other again.

We talked for hours every day after that. She bought a plane ticket to come visit for a week. She would land in Omaha July 26, and was to stay for a week. About 3 weeks before she was supposed to get here, we were talking about how hard it was going to be to watch her leave. With a lot of discussion, it was decided that she wasn't going to leave. She was going to stay here, and we were going to start living together. We realized just how crazy we were a few months later. I let a woman move into my home, after only spending three days with her! And she moved to Nebraska, knowing nobody and leaving a good job and friends and family behind. But, I wouldn't do a single thing differently.

I proposed in bed one night in September. I didn't have a ring at the time, but I asked her what she was doing on October 26 of 2013. She said she didn't have any plans, and I asked her if she would marry me that day. She said yes, and I got a ring the next month. When I gave it to her I asked if she would wear it for a while. Again, she said yes.

The rest is history. We've had our ups and downs just as any couple has. We are currently planning our wedding for October 26, in Alton, Illinois. We are hoping for good weather because the wedding is outdoors in a rose garden! A reception will follow at a bar owned by one of her family members, and then we will come back home and have a reception here for the friends and family who are unable to make the trip to Alton for the ceremony.

I am so excited to marry the woman of my dreams. We are paying for the wedding entirely on our own because neither of our families really have the means to contribute much. But it doesn't matter how big or small it is, because no matter what, it will be the best day of my life. I can't wait to see the most stunning woman on earth, walk down the aisle, and say "I do."