“All of a sudden,” Holley’s friend texted her wondering where she was. It had already been three hours but neither had noticed. Steve figured the date was over, but Holley invited him to come along to hang out. So they headed over to Wine Down in West Reading, PA where they met Holley’s friend Jamie. After a short interrogation from Jamie (Steve passed with flying colors), the three laughed and talked until around 11pm when Jamie had to leave. This would later be referred to as Date 1B.

Steve again figured the date was over, but Holley suggested they head back over to Building24. (<– I’m seeing a pattern here…) So they did, and danced the night away. Conversations turned more in depth: family, values, past pains, past joys, and the logistics of getting married all came up. Yup. Sometime during this time, which they refer to as Date 1C, a woman walked past them and said, “You two make the cutest couple, you should be together forever!” Steve and Holley were taken aback (mostly because both were starting to feel exactly the same way). And Holley responded to the woman by saying, “Would you like to hear something funny? This is our first date!” To which the women replied, “Ah! Well what a funny story you can tell on your wedding day.”

It’s now 2am and Building24 was closing it’s doors. Enter Date 1D. Steve and Holley talked in the parking lot for over an hour before parting ways on this, their 10-hour long, first date. Both returned home knowing that everything had changed.

Check out The Timeline to find out how we got from there to here!

• 11/9/2015 – Steve was on ChristianMingle.com and noticed Holley’s beautiful smile, and decided to reach out with a smile of his own. Holley responded and they began chatting by email. By the end of the night, the first date was arranged.
• 11/13/2015 – The first date(s) – Steve and Holley met at Building 24 in Wyomissing, PA for a short, happy-hour date just to see if there would be a connection. The date lasted more than 10 hours (see How We Met). It is also when Steve met Holley’s friend Jamie as the first gatekeeper!
• 11/21/2015 – Dinner with Bridget and Brad Butler (Holley’s sister and brother-in-law) – Steve continues to meet the first line of gatekeepers to make sure he is “on the level!” It was clear that Holley is loved and cared for by many people! It is this night when Steve and Holley would commit to be exclusive to one another and begin their relationship.
• 11/23/2015 – Ok, that was fast. On this Monday, Steve and Holley met for lunch to make sure they both knew what they had just committed to. (And…yes we definitely did!) Lunch was good too. Something huge had changed, and they both knew it, but the ride had just begun!
• 12/4/2015 – Steve closed his ChristianMingle profile. The search was over.
• 12/5/2015 – Steve meets Mom and Dad Dobson for dinner at Stokesay Castle.
• 12/9/2015 – Holley meets Mom and Dad Barnes in Massachusetts (Steve definitely felt that Holley was the girl you bring home to Mom)
• 12/26/2015 – Holley meets Steve’s kids, Adrien and Jasmine for the first time. In true geek fashion it was a full-on Star Wars day.
• 12/31/2015 – New Year’s Eve celebration with Brad and Bridget Butler (So much fun!)
• For those keeping track at home, it’s been barley more than a month at this point!
• 1/2/2016 – Dinner Cruise in Baltimore – Holley gets to meet Steve’s friends and gatekeepers on a crazy-fun dinner cruise arranged by Jere from Holley’s church.
• 2/19/2016 – Holley meets Steve’s sister, April, who is also the final gatekeeper for Steve. And of course, Holley scores off the charts because…well, that’s Holley
• 4/8/2016 – Steve meets Holley’s daughter, Lia for the first time. Special thanks to Samsung VR goggles for providing a bridge for us!
• 8/13/2016 – Steve proposes to Holley in the middle of a fantastic lightning storm. 9 months after the first date (it was actually sooner but that’s a different story!)
• 9/2016 – 5/2017 – Planning the wedding! We had a great time planning our special day together.
• 5/20/2017 – Best Day Ever when we become Mr. & Mrs. Barnes