They met as cast members of Davis High's production of
West Side Story in the fall of 2014. As they got to know each other better through the months of rehearsals, they exchanged numbers and started texting. One evening in particular they were texting while doing homework when Julianne casually mentioned a craving for hot chocolate. She was delighted when then a few minutes later Jordan texted her to come outside where he was waiting to spirit her away for a quick hot chocolate break. But
West Side Story ended. It was Jordan's senior year and he was busy with graduation requirements and mission papers. Julianne was a junior overwhelmed with intense amounts of homework and rehearsals every single night for three other productions she was involved in. Whatever was happening with Julianne and Jordan kind of fizzled due to busy schedules that didn't often intersect and they settled into the kind of friends that say hi in the halls and text occasionally. Jordan received his mission call to the Canada Montreal Mission and Julianne attended his farewell that summer. And that was it. Or so we thought.
West Side Story...Julianne in front in the purple dress, Jordan to the right in the red pants.
A year later Julianne had just graduated from high school. Her senior year had been a stereotypical one filled with AP classes, play rehearsals, Seminary Council, parties, friends, dances and a boyfriend. But all that ended in early June, and in mid-July she surprised me by saying,
"Mom, do you remember that guy Jordan DiReda that was in West Side Story with me?" When I answered in the affirmative, she said
"I keep thinking about him...I'm not sure why. I want to email him but I don't have his address." She told me she knew of a mutual friend that she was sure would have it, but then what would she even write to Jordan? She was certain he'd think she was so awkward and random if he got an email from some girl he hadn't seen or heard from in over a year. I assured her all missionaries are always happy to get emails no matter who they come from and it wouldn't be awkward at all. But she didn't get the address. And then two weeks later:
"Mom, I can't get Jordan out of my head. I want to write to him. But what should I say so I don't sound ridiculous?" This went on all summer and into the fall when she moved to Provo to attend UVU. Every two weeks or so she'd bring it up again and we'd brainstorm, and then she wouldn't do it.
In mid-November Julianne plucked up some courage and reached out to that mutual friend. The friend affirmed that she did indeed have the address but hadn't Julianne heard, Jordan had come home from his mission that very day! Well, if it was going to be hard to email Jordan on his mission without feeling awkward and random, attempting to call or text him out of the blue was going to be just that much more difficult. Julianne certainly didn't stop thinking about him (or stalking him on social media) but she was busy. We welcomed Rebekah home from her mission at the end of November and then Julianne was thrust into her first college finals experience and the craziness of Christmas. She started spring semester in January along with a new job and a calling as the Relief Society President in her student ward. And to all of this add filling out mission papers of her own.
The 10th of February 2017, Julianne's 19th birthday, was a Friday. Birthday greetings were arriving all day long on her FB page. In the evening however, she found one in her FB Messenger inbox bearing the name Jordan DiReda. He was wishing her a Happy Birthday and hoping she was well. Julianne let out a little high-pitched, giddy screech (according to Rebekah who was with her at the time). This was doable! He sent her the message so all she had to do was respond! Which she did in record time, thanking him for the birthday wishes, welcoming him home from his mission and asking him what he was up to. He replied that he was in Provo attending BYU. She happily informed him that she was in Provo as well and did he want to meet up sometime to chat and catch up? He did, indeed! They planned to meet at Jamba Juice on Monday. And then Julianne called me and giddily informed me she was doing a happy dance. My thoughts?
"FINALLY!!!"
Julianne's text to me as she anticipated meeting up with Jordan on Monday evening...
Jamba Juice went well. They spent much more time there than initially planned, so enjoying their conversation and each other's company. Julianne was absolutely certain she wanted to see him again, but wasn't entirely sure what he was thinking and didn't want to freak him out, so she told him since he was new to Provo they should go on some "adventures" together and she could show him some of the fun things about town. He agreed that he'd enjoy that.
{I should take this moment to tell Jordan's perspective that he shared with me later. Maybe it's not too much of a surprise that he was completely and totally into her as well? And that he too had had thoughts about Julianne while he was in Canada and had also considered writing to her? And that when she mentioned she was working on mission papers that first night at Jamba Juice, he was a little dismayed, but then chided himself for jumping too far ahead because who knew if Julianne was even interested in anything more than just two high school friends catching up? But he was all in from the start, even if Julianne didn't know it yet.}
It didn't take at all long for casual "adventures" to turn into what they really were...dating. And a few weeks later when Julianne introduced Jordan to someone as her boyfriend, she realized they hadn't really discussed it. She turned to him and said,
"I don't know if you noticed back there, that I called you my boyfriend? How do you feel about that?" He responded that she was the one going on a mission in a few months and he'd let her take the lead in defining the relationship, but that he was happy to be whatever she wanted him to be. And if that was her boyfriend, he was good with that.
Julianne was called to the New Jersey Morristown Mission, leaving June 27th. She'd wanted to serve a mission nearly her whole life. She wasn't ready to get married. For that matter, neither was Jordan. However that didn't stop their hearts aching at the thought of her leaving.
"But what if I love him, Mom?" she asked me one day. Knowing full well that she knew she could stay home if she wanted without judgement, but also knowing that she really wanted to go I told her,
"Then you go on your mission and you love him from there."
Jordan asked Julianne before she left if he should wait for her. When she responded,
"Of course not!" he clarified that he obviously would date other people while she was away but,
"do you want me to still be here when you get home?" She thought about it for a bit and then told him that no, he needed to live his own life. Of course she hoped he would write to her. And of course if she came home and he was still available then obviously she'd want to see him. But she didn't want him to put his life on hold because of a decision she made. She wanted him to not only date other girls but feel free to move on if he found himself falling in love with someone, maybe even wanting to marry that someone. She didn't want to be a part of the equation in his brain at all as he potentially made serious decisions about relationships. She didn't want him to feel any guilt about,
"...but I made a promise to Julianne."
Jordan wrote to Julianne fairly regularly and sent her packages for holidays and birthdays. Julianne's companions all adored him not only due to the sweet stories Julianne would share, but also because he frequently added treats and gifts for them in the packages he sent. Time went by. True to his word, Jordan dated other girls and even had a few somewhat serious relationships. He stayed in contact with our family, often coming to support Lilian in her soccer games and occasionally joining us for game nights and movies when he was in town for random weekends and holidays. As the time came closer for Julianne to return it became clear that Jordan had high hopes. As for expectations, absolutely none...but hopes, definitely! None of us knew however, how Julianne would feel or what would happen.
Julianne arrived home on a Wednesday, December 19, 2018. She was a typical returned missionary with that deer in the headlights look as she contemplated heading back to school and dating. She was anxious to see Jordan, and also scared to death. She kept expecting to see him around every corner in our errands about town those first couple days and she decided that she would much rather control the narrative of their first meeting rather than have it sprung on her if she randomly ran into him somewhere or if he unexpectedly dropped by. So she borrowed some clothes from her sister, curled her hair and even put on eyeliner (the bane of her existence...just ask her) for added confidence and headed over to his house...only to pull over half way there to read some verses in the Book of Mormon to calm her nerves and racing heart. (Is that a newly RM thing to do or what?)
She had originally planned to text Jordan from the driveway, ask him if he was up for a hot chocolate break and then tell him to come outside where she was waiting...in the same way that he had done back in high school. But he didn't initially respond to her text asking if he was home. He was indeed inside and playing games with his family when her text came through. His dad noticed the message first and said,
"Umm, Jordan...you probably want to see this." But in order to not seem overly desperate Jordan decided to wait to respond until he finished that particular hand of cards, not having any idea that Julianne was just outside. Julianne wasn't sure if he was home or not but after waiting for five minutes or so, decided to go to the door. Jordan's younger brother answered and as he ushered Julianne around the corner (according to Julianne) Jordan leaped up from his chair like a jack-in-the-box and literally ran from the kitchen, across the living room to where she stood and picked her up off her feet as he enveloped her in an enormous hug.
It was clear from those first few days that there was still immense interest on both sides, but Julianne was not too keen to immediately jump back into a relationship. She needed time to adjust to being a college student again instead of a missionary. She wanted to date other people, she wanted to be sure of her heart. Jordan was completely understanding and supportive of this and told her that she could date however many guys she wanted, after all he had dated other girls while she was gone...he just hoped that she would include him in her dating pool. And so though she did start seeing other people when they headed back to Provo in January, she spent a lot of time with Jordan as well, helped along surely by the fact that they lived in the same apartment complex. It's probably no surprise that marriage comments cropped up regularly even during the early days of being home. In fact one month to the day after Julianne's return they jokingly planned their whole wedding...but then got serious as Julianne told him that she just wasn't ready yet. Jordan told her he was okay with that. He could be patient...even giving her 30 years if she needed it. And if she ever decided that it didn't feel right to her, to please let him know. He just wanted her to be happy.
She told him she loved him on February 10th, her 21st birthday, two years to the day from when they reconnected after his mission. After the semester ended in early May she told him she didn't want to date anyone else and could she be his girlfriend? She went with his family to Florida in July and he came with our family to Island Park in August. They headed back down to Provo for a new semester in the fall as an official couple...and the talk of marriage continued. By October, Jordan had told Julianne he knew what he wanted, the ball was in her court. The engagement timing was up to her...when she was ready to go ring shopping, she just needed to let him know.
On November 6th, Jordan's 23rd birthday, Julianne took him out to celebrate. They had dinner at the restaurant he had taken her to on her birthday earlier that year and then afterwards Julianne suggested a walk around the Provo City Center Temple grounds...something they had also done on her birthday. When they made their way to the big fountain in front of the temple, they sat down and Julianne asked Jordan if he would like to open his birthday present. He agreed and she handed him a gift bag with a photo album inside. As Jordan started looking through the pictures, Julianne explained that it was documentation of all their "adventures" together, a reference to that conversation at Jamba Juice years earlier. The last picture was Julianne's hand holding a ring pop with the temple behind...the exact view from where they were currently sitting. Julianne told him this particular picture was to represent the new adventure they were heading into...and then she dropped to her knee in front of him, pulled that ring pop out of her pocket and said,
"Jordan Michael DiReda...will you marry me?"
Apparently she got a ring pop for herself as well...
Julianne's proposal was technically meant to be kind of a joke...her own quirky way of letting Jordan know she was now ready to go ring shopping. After choosing a ring Jordan could then do his own more official proposal. But there was work and school, and finals were coming up, and the Christmas holidays. And add to that Julianne's indecision as to what kind of ring she wanted, despite the multiple ring shopping trips. And so they remained ringless. But because they had chosen June 12th to get married, prime wedding season in Utah, we started realizing that temple times and reception center bookings were fast filling up, even seven months in advance! So Jordan scheduled the Provo City Center Temple and we decided on a reception center and put down a deposit. Over Christmas break on a girly shopping trip meant to give Julianne a chance to start thinking what style of wedding dress she would be interested in, we found THE DRESS at the very first store we stopped at! By the time the new year rolled around they were telling people they were engaged and using the word fiance when describing their relationship to others. I overheard Jordan say at one point,
"She proposed and I accepted, we are most definitely engaged!" But also as they headed into their new semester of classes, Julianne confided that she had finally found the perfect ring and the ball was now back in his court.
Wedding dress shopping...Julianne was in the dressing room. And though I do indeed have pictures of her in THE DRESS, I can't post them yet.
Julianne's 22nd birthday was on a Monday this year. And she knew that the ring was meant to be finished and ready to pick up within a week or two leading up to that day. She had a sneaking suspicion when Jordan told her he had made birthday plans for the Saturday before, that truly he was going to propose. She was so convinced of this that she had discussed with her roommates what outfit to wear and what color to paint her nails, how to do her hair, etc. Friday afternoon Jordan came over "looking very dapper" according to Julianne. She was initially concerned that maybe her suspicions were wrong and he was planning something that very evening instead and oh no, her hair wasn't even clean! But then he sat down with her on the couch and proceeded to do homework for the next couple hours. Julianne's roommate Camryn had a few days earlier invited them to join her and her fiance, Brayden, on a group date that evening to which Julianne and Jordan had initially given her a we'll-play-it-by-ear sort of answer dependent on how much homework they had. As the time came closer Camryn brought it up again, and then plead with them to come. They had planned a fun scavenger hunt around Provo, she said. The other couple that was originally planning to also join them had dropped out...if Julianne and Jordan didn't come Camryn and Brayden wouldn't be able to do it either because it was an Amazing Race sort of thing. Julianne was a little hesitant, she still had more homework to do and Jordan said the decision was up to her...he was fine staying at the apartment for the evening if she felt like that was the better choice. Camryn pleaded again and promised it would be such fun. So Julianne, who does enjoy an adventure and also loves her roommate, decided the homework could wait and ran to change out of her sweats and t-shirt into a date worthy outfit, but decided to leave the braids in her hair...suspecting nothing.
The first clue led them to Jamba Juice with instructions to order a specific smoothie after which they'd get their next clue.
"Jordan!" Julianne exclaimed...
"how funny is it that this is where we had our first date! And we get to order my favorite drink!" The next clue led them to Waffle Love which delighted Julianne because she has become a waffle connoisseur of late rating various waffle restaurants in good, better, best fashion. Another clue led to Forever 21 (or was it H&M) with instructions to try on business suits...something that Julianne and Jordan had enjoyed doing a few weeks ago when Julianne was looking for new MTC approved outfits to wear to work.
Julianne figured out the last clue incredibly fast. She told Jordan to
"drive like the wind!" to the Provo City Center Temple to which he replied,
"I shall!" (Well no, this didn't actually happen. But in Julianne's dramatic retelling of the evening's events she did describe their conversation this way. Jordan rolled his eyes but they decided that it was forever more going to be an inside joke.) As they made their way to the temple Julianne happily thought back to the spots they had visited on their scavenger hunt and realized that the clues had taken them to so many of her favorite places.
"It's like this hunt was made just for me!" she thought....which then led to a startling realization in her head.
"Wait! What if it is!!!" And suddenly she noticed that despite being in a race, Jordan was driving awfully slow, and though knowing exactly how to get to the temple he was missing obvious turns and taking a more circuitous route. Hmmm.
They eventually got to the temple but rather than hop out of the car and run excitedly to the fountain where the clue indicated, she sat in her seat and looked at Jordan. They both hemmed and hawed for a bit with
"Oh look, we're here" and
"so I guess we go to the fountain now?" sort of comments. Finally Julianne stepped out of the car but took a sneaky glance back and saw Jordan reach for something and tuck it in his pocket.
"Confirmed!" thought Julianne. They walked to the fountain and found....nada. No clue, not anything. When Julianne figured out the clue so quickly, Camtyn and Brayden who were of course in on the whole evening from the start, hadn't had a chance to arrive first to set things up. Jordan made excuses...was there another fountain on the other side of the temple?
"You know there isn't Jordan!" and then suggested maybe they ask around for a clue inside the gazebo behind the fountain. They went inside where Julianne played along and asked one of the temple workers if she had a clue. When of course she didn't, Julianne spent some time looking at the statue of Christ while going out of her way to not notice Jordan surreptitiously texting behind her. After a minute or two Jordan said,
"Oh hey...I just got a text from Camryn. She said that they just made it to the fountain and found the next clue. I wonder if we just somehow missed it or something?" Julianne smiled, pretty sure in her knowledge of what was happening next and as they walked to the fountain and she saw what was waiting there she turned around, pointed to Jordan and said,
"I KNEW IT!"...ruining, she said, any sort of romance in the moment.
There at the fountain was a painting of a boy kneeling in front of a girl with a ring in his hand. And then in real life imitating art (or maybe art imitating real life?) Jordan took the ring out of his pocket, kneeled down in front of Julianne in the same place she had kneeled in front of him a few months earlier, and officially asked her to marry him. If you can't tell, she said YES!
I think they are both walking around with perma-grin. Julianne loves having that ring on her left hand. They are in the process of picking out Jordan's ring...Julianne tells me she has plans to propose again when it arrives. Of course she does.
It's official...lets do this thing!
