Our Meet Cute

Every day, we come into contact with old and new people and don't think anything of it. And then there comes a day when we meet THE person, and our life is turned upside down in the best way. These are our favorite stories. They are what get our hearts beating faster and make us come alive. How did you meet? What draws you to the other person? When did you know your spouse was "The One"? How did the engagement process go down when you made the decision that you would promise forever to each other? Often it is only the grand and defining life events that are given the chance to be frozen in time: births, graduations, engagements, weddings, anniversaries. But it is in those small day to day encounters, the chance meetings, overcoming obstacles, and in the planning for those big moments, that real life happens. As one of our favorite artists writes, "Life is not the mountain tops, it's the walking in between, and I like you walking next to me." We love weddings, because we love marriage even more. We believe in marriage and fight for ours every day. That is why we are so passionate about being part of your wedding day and capturing all of your first moments as husband and wife, as you embark on this adventure of life together! You now know that we are curious to learn your story, so we figure it is only fair to share our meet cute with you as well. Nazari was born across the world in Lutsk, Ukraine and Elisabeth hails from central Pennsylvania. Our worlds collided in 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pa and that is where our story begins. To this day, our telling of the same story looks quite different and the day we met is no exception. Elisabeth: At the start of the junior year, I woke up my first Sunday morning back in Pittsburgh feeling perplexed. I felt it was important for me to start the semester on the right foot, and that I needed to get to church that morning to do so. However, I wasn't entirely interested in going by myself. So did I stay home? Or go to church alone? My conscience won and I rushed out of bed and walked the two blocks to church. I arrived early. Something that never happens in my life. Feeling way too self aware, I decided that if I sat toward the back middle, people would have no choice but to fill in around me. Wrong. No one filled in. At least not until right after the service had begun. Abruptly a guy sat down beside me. He was nice, but a little odd. He kept talking to me throughout the entire service. I found out he went to Robert Morris (I'd never heard of it) and played tennis. We bonded over the fact that I was taking a racquetball class that year. Before he left, he insisted on getting my number so we could play sometime. Seeing as I just met him, I was hesitant, but rationalized that I met him in church, so it seemed harmless enough. Little did I know how that chance encounter would radically change my life as I knew it. ​ Nazari: My teenage nieces were visiting Pittsburgh and I had decided to take them to the city for a Pirates game the weekend before I started back at RMU. We decided to go to the Oakland campus of Northway since it wasn't far from the stadium. As we were heading down the street, I saw the most beautiful girl I've ever laid my eyes upon walk into the church ahead of me. I immediately knew that I had to meet her. Once inside, My nieces and I headed to the back to grab coffee just as the service was starting. The pastor made an announcement saying "We have a packed service today. Scooch close and make a new friend." As fate would have it, there were three open seats beside the girl I had just seen, who I didn't know at the time was Elisabeth. I said "Thank you, Jesus" and quickly snagged the seat beside her. I don't remember much about the message that day, but I knew then and there that I had just met my future wife. I somehow convinced her to give me her number. After our first date, I become unwaveringly convinced that from the beginning of time, God created our hearts for each other. I had no choice but to pursue her. ​ ***It should be noted that it took us 9 months of dating before that racquetball game ever happened.