The first time either of us remember seeing each other was in March of 1997 during a Grace University World Christian Conference. Greg was part of the worship team as their guitar player, and somehow or other Amber was roped into playing the tambourine by Dean Baylor. We never spoke a single word to each other.
For a year we would pass each other by on the sidewalk and neither would say a word to the other. Even though we never talked, we had both still taken notice of each other. Amber and her roommate Sally finally decided to make Greg, along with a couple other cute guys, into little "projects", and see if by the end of the school year they could get the guys to actually say hi as they passed by. It was a tiresome ordeal but finally they noticed progress. Greg and the other guys actually would start saying hi all by themselves--i.e. with no coaching!
One day during this long period of occasional encounters and mild interest, Greg went to Dean Baylor's dorm room to pester him a bit. Dean was on the phone with someone and was giving them directions to a Sixpence concert and, unaware of who Dean was speaking to, Greg butted into the conversation and began correcting him as to the proper route to the concert site.
"Well, why don't you just tell her the directions yourself?" said Dean, "It's Amber. You know her?" Suddenly nervous, Greg fumbled for words as he attempted to explain the way to the cheerful girl on the other end of the phone line. "Why don't I just ride with you?" she said. *gulp* At this point Greg became terrified. But he agreed anyway. The biggest role that ol' Dean played was that right then and there he suggested to Greg that he should date Amber. Greg thought it was a good idea.
The ride to the concert was for the most part uneventful although Amber was very impressed and amazed--she had no idea that Greg could actually say more than two to three words at one time! Corncerning the events that took place after they arrived at the concert, Amber and Greg differ on their accounts of what actually happened...
Amber's Version
When we got to the concert, Greg went over to talk to Sarah Middleton and all his other girlfriends. I hung around for a little while but I didn't know any of them well and felt like an uninvited tag-a-long so as soon as I spotted my friend Kevin Owen I politely excused myself and went over to talk to him. He was the guy I usually went to concerts with but he had to be there early so he could help set up.
Kevin and I went into the auditorium to find a place to sit before the concert started. I made sure to leave an empty seat on the aisle just in case Greg should happen to want to sit with us. I never saw Greg actually slink in. He must have been too busy talking with his girlfriends and then came in after the lights were dimmed or something. I did eventually spot him in the audience not too far away and would occasionally steal a glance in his direction just to see if maybe he was looking at me but he never once cared to glance in my direction.
After the concert ended, I waited around for awhile for Greg but he showed no sign of leaving anytime in that century. He finally noticed me after what seemed like hours and asked if I could find a ride with someone else because he wanted to stay and help tear down. So Kevin politely offered to give me a ride home. This is the correct version--the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
Greg's Version
Upon arriving at the concert, Amber immediately found a good friend of hers, Kevin Owen. A boy. As they talked and flirted, I stood there uncomfortably and noticed some of my friends waving me over. Torn, I waited a little longer but when it became painfully obvious that I had served my purpose and she no longer had any use for me, I mumbled something unintelligible and went over to my friends. When the show started, I walked in the auditorium and tried to find her, but she must not have wanted to be found too much because I couldn't see her and there was nobody trying to get my attention.
At the end of the night I helped some stage engineers tear down a bit. She waited around (only because she needed a ride) and, seeing the impatient and annoyed look on her face I suggested she hitch a ride with her "friend" Kevin Owen. That was that. I assure you that, despite what she says, this is the real story.
Even though things got off to a rocky start and Greg left for home (Kansas) that summer, he thought about Amber the whole summer but didn't tell anybody. The following school year, Greg took a big step forward by going and talking to Amber near the volleyball court. Once again, this totally took Amber off guard but she was very excited and pleased. Amber and Sally pondered over what this could mean.
Dan Croson, who was aware of Greg's interest in Amber, decided Greg needed some help because he wasn't getting the job done in a timely fashion. He took matters into his own hands one fine day in September and stopped Amber near the clock tower. He went on to tease Amber a bit about Greg and that fateful night at the Sixpence concert. He also nonchalantly tried to see if there was any interest on Amber's part, but Amber, being a typical woman, did not give a straight answer but merely said, "Hey, my number is in the directory."
Later that same evening, Amber was at work when who should come waltzing in but Greg himself. He immediately started badgering her to try and find out just what Dan had said to her earlier that day. Amber asked, "What's it worth to you?" Mumbling and looking down at his feet, Greg stammered, "um, uh...well, would you want to...uh, I mean, wanna go out sometime?" Grinning ear to ear, Amber said yes. That was September 18, 1998.
Even though Amber was gettin' pretty antsy, Greg felt it was necessary to take his time. After he took his time, he then felt it was no longer necessary to wait. This was a very difficult time for Greg because even though he had decided to go ahead, he couldn't tell her. Those days especially, Amber was awful antsy and was beginning to question whether she would ever get married to this guy. But if it was to be a surprise then nothing could be said.
It was their big "one year dating" anniversary date, and Greg suspected that Amber was expecting the big question that night. The date started when Greg greeted Amber at the door with a rose. They then went on a mini-picnic, just like their first date, and things were going very well.
Later they had a lovely dinner at the Olive Garden, where Greg reassured her that the proposal would be coming soon, the next time she received roses. This totally threw Amber off. He took her home and said goodnight after surreptitiously slipping her roommate Sally a note with instructions to keep Amber occupied and not let her go to sleep. Sally tried but with no luck. Meanwhile, Greg had rushed home to get all his supplies for that big moment.
After about a half hour or so, there was a loud knock on Amber's front door. She thought it was strange that Sally insisted she get out of bed and answer it when Sally was still up and around, but she did so anyways. Amber opened the door to the sight of six big beautiful red roses and instantly knew what was up. Her heart started pounding and her first instinct was to run away, although she had waited for this very moment her whole life. Upon closer inspection of the flowers, she saw a note instructing her to go into the garage. (Somehow earlier in the evening, Greg had snuck into the garage and unlocked it) Amber opened the door and saw Greg, already down on one knee with the ring next to a table decorated with a white tablecloth, candle, and two wine goblets with a bottle of sparkling juice. Then Greg said some of the sweetest words every girl dreams of hearing from the man she loves. Obviously Amber's answer was yes, otherwise this page would not exist.
This is what we DID for our wedding :)