Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration

Wedding Day

Ceremony

Fellowship Hour

Reception

After Party

Our Wedding

John and Riley met in what previous generations might conceive of as an unconventional way, on a dating app. That is pretty typical for people from our generation. Our first date was a date to see the UNT Theater Department’s production of Hair: The Musical on April 27, 2017. Truthfully, it was a little awkward. Riley’s ex-boyfriend Michael was doing music for the show and he sat right behind behind us the entire time. The night was still enough of a success for our relationship to move forward.

Dear friends and family,

Fast forward to our third date. We went out to dinner at Rockfish in Richardson. John told Riley that it was Shamim's, John's mother's, birthday dinner. What he omitted was that it would be only the 3 of us at dinner. Again, something that many would probably see as an unconventional third date but it went well, and Shamim quickly became one of Riley’s closest confidants during what turned out to be some difficult years ahead. As John and Riley grew closer, so did our lives. Riley met John’s friends Jen and Morgan. John met Riley’s parents, sister, and future brother-in-law. Slowly, we began to build bonds of kinship and love around our relationship that pulled us further together.

At Birthdays

May 18, 2017 was another special day. It was the day that we first said “I love you”. We drove Riley’s truck down to Ennis to the drive-in theater. It was a double-feature: the new Alien movie and the new Power Rangers movie. We sat in the back of his truck, cuddled, ate snacks that we'd snuck-in from outside, and enjoyed the lovely spring Texas evening. It was an amazing night. Saying “I love you” to one another after 3 weeks of dating isn’t the most conventional thing to do, but sometimes when you know, you know. A few days later, Riley left for a 3-month summer AmeriCorps position in Iowa. We spoke on the phone for hours every single night during that time, sometimes falling asleep together on the phone.

In Truck Beds

During October 2017, for our six month anniversary, Riley surprised John by taking him to the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas. At this point, neither of us were particularly religious and we were looking to get involved in an LGBTQ-affirming Christian community. Cathedral of Hope is THE gay church in Dallas, so we went. Not many couples these days in their early twenties go on anniversary dates to church, but if you know us then you know it makes sense.

In Church Pews

The next few years were a blur. John graduated from college and lost a grandmother. Riley graduated from college and lost several jobs. We went to innumerable protests and organizing meetings. We celebrated birthdays and holidays. We started going to the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas and found our church home. We went to Pluckers one too many times. And we fell further and further in love. There are so many good memories from this time that it is really impossible to quantify them. Needless to say, our lives were filled to the brim with joy.

At Graduations and Celebrations

We moved in to our first apartment together in February 2020. By March 2020, we were settling into life in one apartment and then... we all know what happened next. Our spring break got 1 week longer, then 2 weeks longer, and then it was May 2020 and we had barely left our house for 3 months, had eaten our weight in cheez-its, and were watching way too much TV. Time slowed. So many people died, including some relatives, many more became ill, and our world got smaller and smaller. If the pandemic did one thing, its teach us what and who truly matters in our lives and what we were willing to let go.

In Lock-Down

We adapted, just like most people, and kept moving. The next school year started with masking and hybrid learning and it was hard. We took time to paint pumpkins and go on a camping trip. John crocheted beanies for Riley’s entire immediate family for Christmas. We took a trip to Riley’s parents cabin in Arkansas. We went on John’s first trip to the State Fair of Texas. And we adopted our cat Kit-Kat. Through all of this time, we grew deeper in love.

On Adventures

Flash forward to Saturday, April 16, 2022. It was a big day: Holy Saturday, one week before our 5th anniversary, and 2 days before our big anniversary trip to Seattle that we had been dreaming of for years. Little did Riley know, John was planning to propose that night. Looking back, Riley probably should have suspected what was going on. John had invited Riley’s parents and John’s best friend Jenny and her boyfriend Joshua to come to Easter Vigil with us. John had encouraged us to get nice “Easter” clothes which were way more expensive than what we usually paid for clothes. The entire time Riley was oblivious, right up until he walked up to the icon of Mary and Baby Jesus after Easter Vigil. Riley lit a candle at John’s behest, and when he turned around, John was on one knee, tiny ring box in hand. Clearly, Riley said yes.

On One Knee

If you’re reading this, then you are important to us. You have played, in some way, a major role in our relationship journey. Some of you are family members. Some of you are friends. Some of you we speak to all the time. Many of you we haven’t spoken to as much as we’d like during the pandemic, but we know you understand. As we prepare for our big day, we just want to say thank you for lifting us up, holding us in a warm embrace, wrapping us in support during hard times, picking up the phone at odd hours to hear us cry, and for being our people. We love you. We cannot wait for you to celebrate our forever with us.

With our Favorite People

Love, John and Riley

Our Story

Engagement Photos

Wedding Party

Q + A

Travel

Things to Do

Registry

Guest Attire Ideas

The attire for the event is summer formal. What that means to us is attractive, sophisticated, maybe even garden party attire that is still appropriate for 95+ degree weather in Dallas at the end of June. The entire event will be air conditioned and indoors but we still want all guests to be comfortable. Please wear whatever clothing and adornments make you feel cute and fancy. We want all our favorite people to feel their best at our wedding. Ties, heals, jackets, and dress shoes are optional. There will only be light dancing at the reception since we are not having a DJ. Wearing red is strongly encouraged. Some ideas for what you might wear to our wedding are below. Anticipate that you will be in more than a few photos.

John & Riley

John & Riley

J&R

Wedding Day

11:30 AM–12:30 PM

Ceremony

12:30 PM–1:30 PM

Fellowship Hour

1:30 PM–4:00 PM

Reception

4:00 PM–8:00 PM

After Party