Come with me, if you will, to Richmond Virginia, on a brisk January day in 2016. Abigail and I carrying chairs, boxes of books, framed art, oriental rugs, off a moving truck. Smell, if you will, the pleasant aroma of orange chicken wafting through the steadily-filling house. The sounds of laughter as friends drank many a beer as we all shuffled various furniture items through rooms with tall, southern ceilings.
When Abbi + I moved to Richmond on that January afternoon, we didn’t know what to expect, and more importantly we didn’t know basically anyone. One of my best friends, Luke, and one of Abbi’s best friends, Laura, were the only people we knew. Fortunately, they both had houses in our neighborhood!
Throughout the next two and a half years, it was a wonderful experience getting to know Laura + Kevin. I was always excited to be partaking in Kevin’s latest haul of venison, or Laura’s edible works of art in the form of cakes/cookies/tiny pies that she seemed to crank out every month or so. We went on to eat more orange chicken, drank many an additional beer, and made many a pizza (obviously).
But the real joy has been to see Laura + Kevin’s relationship grow and change. You can tell how much they love each other from their ability to have fun together, and that’s something I really really like seeing in couples. It’s also been amazing seeing how much they support each other, whether it’s Kevin supporting Laura’s absolutely epic backyard garden, or Laura supporting Kevin’s seemingly insatiable needs to buy Jeep after Jeep after Jeep. The latest, Ruby (their getaway vehicle, pictured below!), is a 50s era Jeep that, aside from the color, looks like it was pulled right out of WWII and tossed into Southside Richmond.
To be at their wedding and see it all come together was a true joy!
And the afterparty at Joe’s Inn…CRUCIAL!
*cheers!*
