“Despite the distance, we are so ready to get married and do life together.”

Meet Jess (now Mrs. Lowman). She married her Marine, Chris, on April 14th. They met each other in college, were friends for six months before they started to date, and have been together ever since. I was lucky enough to witness their beautiful wedding just under a month ago in her home state of California.

Jess and Chris are truly a long-distance couple. This is their first time living with one another (or even within a close vicinity of one another) since they started dating four and a half years ago. Distance has defined their relationship from the beginning, but she says that it allowed them to become who they are as individuals. During this time, she says they have become expert FaceTimers (haven’t we all, can I get an amen?!). She graduated from UVA and pursued post-graduate studies to become a Registered Nurse, while he excelled as a Communications officer in the Marine Corps. They have now “settled” just in time to receive orders to Germany as their first PCS and duty station as a married couple! If any of you seasoned military spouses have any pointers on an OCONUS PCS or specifically Germany, comment below so Jess can see them!

Jess is currently working as a nurse at Brynn Marr Hospital in Jacksonville. She reports that it is a difficult job; however, she has grown to enjoy it in her short time there. One of the biggest differences for new nurses that have an active duty spouse is that many nursing jobs ask for a contractual commitment…and sometimes we simply can’t commit to years at a time when our military members are subjected to last minute orders. She was so resilient in combatting that though. She found a job within weeks of graduating from the College of Charleston and has been unstoppable ever since.

Deployment looms over all military spouses, but Chris’s deployment loomed just a little bit more for Jess…he returned late March when their wedding was scheduled for April 14th. As we all know, homecoming dates fluctuate more than a pregnant woman’s mood, so we were all nervous he may not make it home in time. Thankfully, since Jess was living with me at the time (in fact, these images were taken in my home with Jess’s stuff “in storage” in my living room…seriously, this life throws so many unexpected curve balls at you [like living in between homes for two months]), I was able to provide some emotional support and a calming voice when his homecoming date seemed to continuously get pushed back. No worries though, Chris made it home in time and they are now living happily ever after!