“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.”

Indeed, for none but the Lord would’ve known the heavenly match amidst the dancers. Neither James Dunn nor Allyson Oliver realized their future as they introduced themselves and enjoyed the old-fashioned festivities of the Twelfth Night English Country Dance Ball, though their fates were intertwined.

Though they had once attended the same Pirates of Penzance birthday party of a mutual friend some years earlier, neither one remembered the other.  Through the common love of English Country Dance and the persistence of friends, they met again at the annual ball about a year later and enjoyed their first dance together. After some encouragement from her sisters, Allyson casually asked James for his Facebook information, not noticing that he was (accidentally) using her water cup. James realized his mistake after she left, but kept the cup as a souvenir.

As the two began conversing, they discovered they had many common interests, such as writing fantasy stories. They shared their creative works with each other, and it was not long before Allyson desired to see him again.

At the time, James had an apartment in California and was planning to return there in August. Hoping to see him at least once before he left, Allyson asked if he would be coming to the next ball while in Oregon. However, he had prior plans and was unable to make it. Finally, afraid she’d miss her chance, she messaged him:

“Hey, you want to meet up some time before you head back to California?”

James saw the message four days later. His heart rate increased in rhythm as he realized Allyson liked him. He asked himself, “What do I do?  Am I ready for this?” After a few minutes, he managed to respond:

“Hi Allyson! Sorry my attention to Facebook has been so sporadic. 😛 It would be great to meet up sometime. I’m going to be camping up in the woods and mountains in Washington from July 5th through 12th, but after that I’ll be back in town for a while longer. :)”

They agreed to meet at the St. Honoré Bakery in Lake Oswego in two weeks.  During that time, James went with his family on their annual vacation, not breathing a word to any of them that he was about to start seeing someone. Allyson anxiously explained to her family that she was, ‘just meeting a friend.’

And so it was on July 15th, for the first time since the dance, Allyson and James met again. Though they both were nervous, they enjoyed each other’s company so much, that before either of them realized it, five hours had passed!  Before saying goodbye, James asked, “Would you like to meet again?”

Allyson responded with a smile, “I would.”

They saw each other almost every weekend after that, but kept their blooming relationship as a friendship till the evening of September 30th. After a private conversation, James admitted that they were indeed dating… very much to Allyson’s delight (and relief!). They continued to see each other into the holiday season and became acquainted with each other’s families and friends.

By the time it was Christmas and New Year’s, James knew he wanted Allyson to be his wife.  On Friday, January 4th, he sat down with her parents with intention of asking for her hand in marriage. He just managed to say, “I love Allyson, and I want to ask her to marry me,” before her father said with unrestrained enthusiasm, “You have my permission.”  Her mother started crying and said, “James, that’s wonderful!”

Allyson was slightly suspicious that there was something brewing in the air, but remained oblivious to the work behind the scenes as the designated proposal day drew close. James enlisted the help of his family, his friends, and her family to successfully make the event a reality. They began using code names and words; James went by “Batman” because he was NOT into comics and thus Allyson would never suspect it was him.  Allyson’s next younger sister, Kalynn, became the primary source of information. Her code name was “The Riddler”, as she took the task of secretly acquiring information, such as Allyson’s ring size and style preferences Their conversations would go like this:

Riddler: “The Batmobile is 50 mph.”

Batman: “You’re sure? It’s not 55?”

Riddler: “Nope, Miss Batmobile was afraid 55 would fall off.”

On Saturday morning, January 19th, James and Allyson received a ‘spur-of-the-moment’ invitation to his friends’, the Chandlers, medieval photoshoot at Willamette Mission, and the invitation was extended to their families.  After they arrived and began taking pictures, Allyson’s grandparents ‘randomly’ showed up, and her Grandfather said, “we were just driving by when we saw all these people dressed up in cloaks, and it turned out to be you guys!”  Allyson thought, “Wow, that’s so neat! What a wonderful coincidence!” She still did not suspect the magnitude of the moment until she and James were left alone under an aged walnut tree.

Taking her hands, James told her he loved her, and he knelt on one knee. “Allyson, will you be my wife?”

Allyson replied quite forcefully, “Yes! Yes!”

It is now with great delight and pleasure that we invite you to witness and celebrate James and Allyson’s anticipated wedding on September 21st, 2019.