Mariah and Chase

At what point did you decide that you were in love?

MARIAH: “We have known each other since 3rd & 4th grade, but we started dating in high school as a freshman and sophomore. He is exactly 11 months older than me, I was 14 when we became official and celebrated my 15th birthday, 20 days later. We both ended up saying “I love you” 2 months later. We immediately started spending a TON of time together so I got to see that he had a very tender, caring, and loving heart, but was still definitely a guy’s guy. He loved sports, loved to hunt, loved to get his hands dirty, but also loved his family, took care of his little brothers, and was just very sweet and affectionate. Before him, I had never seen that in a man – young or old. Once I saw that side of him, I definitely felt I was in love.”

CHASE: For me, it was when it got to the point where being apart from her felt like half of me was missing. I just had that longing feeling for her and she was all I could think about.

What inspires you about each other? What do you love most about each other?

MARIAH: What I love most about Chase is his heart. He has an incredible ability to love others and fully forgive them regardless of the situation. He inspires me to be better in this way.

CHASE: Mariah’s relentless work ethic is what inspires me most. What I love most
about Mariah is how caring she is.

What life goals and dreams do you share?

BOTH: We share a dream/goal to travel before we have kids then take them along, and travel more once we have them. We also share a dream of being successful business owners!

What have you learned from each other?

MARIAH: I have learned from Chase, how to be more patient and that sometimes it is best to simply let things go.

CHASE: I have learned from Mariah how important communication is for all kinds of
relationships, as well as how to be more humble and less selfish.

What qualities make your love unique and keep your love strong?

BOTH: We have always felt a true friendship with each other, above anything else. We genuinely enjoy each other’s company and honestly prefer it over anyone else in the world. What keeps our love strong is knowing that whatever we face, we can certainly conquer because we have God, who wants nothing but the best for us and our marriage. We also feel sharing a true mutual respect for one another and each other’s desires/opinions keeps us connected, which keeps our love strong.

What do you most look forward to in your lives together?

MARIAH: Ilook forward to seeing Chase as a father. I remember shortly after we started dating I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he admitted he wanted to be a father. I couldn’t believe my ears! Other than that, I really just look forward to experiencing life with my best
friend who is now my husband!

CHASE: I look forward to all of it. I look forward to the journey.

What are some special moments in your relationship – happy,
sad, funny, or profound?

MARIAH: A few happy moments include watching him play high school football and being the loudest cheering girlfriend in the stands! Another would be the first time he took me to his family’s hunting camp, where I refused to kill anything because I love animals way too much. Of course, getting engaged was a very happy time, too! Sad time would be him leaving town for college, we weren’t sure if we
would even make it through that. A funny time would have to be anytime we go on a road trip, which is a few times a year, we always end up singing our hearts out (horribly) to old throwback songs. We just get really silly and dance – that’s always been our thing when taking a road trip. A profound moment would have to be when he came home from college and I was out of high school and we were both growing, becoming adults, and really trying to figure out who and what we wanted to become, we made a conscious decision to grow together rather than apart. We believe that moment is the reason we
are married today.

MARIAH, CLOSING COMMENT: These questions were a lot of fun. Really got us thinking and reminiscing. I know the term “blessing” is pretty much a cliché now, but we really do feel like having the opportunity to have our wedding in Nantahala and have the reception at your venue was one of the best blessings Chase and I have ever received! Our wedding day was a dream come true!