Love Story : Happy New Year as a couple

The New Year is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings. For Josh and Kristin Seely, 2008 is the first year as a married couple.

They wed Sept. 22, and their love story is proof that sometimes father really does know best.

Josh worked with Kristin’s dad for several months on a construction project out of town. Her dad was impressed with this hard-working young man and mentioned Josh frequently to his daughter in his phone calls home.

Kristin wasn’t interested. “The last guy my parents tried to hook me up with was horrible,” she said with a shudder.

After the job was completed Kristin’s dad invited Josh over for dinner. He didn’t tell his daughter. She was taken aback to find a stranger at the family gathering. “I said, ‘What’s he doing here?’ ” Kristin recalled. But she liked what she saw.

In fact she really wanted to see more of him. That’s when her dad came in handy, again. “Josh was on my dad’s My Space page,” Kristin said with a grin. So she added Josh to her friends list.

They chatted online and discovered they had much in common. Both were committed Christians with strong family ties. “She sent me her phone number,” Josh said. “So I worked up the courage to ask her on a date.”

“It wasn’t a date,” his new bride begged to differ.

“OK,” Josh shrugged and smiled. “It was a group gathering.”

After that first outing of dinner and bowling with friends, Kristin sent her dad a text message. It consisted of a big smiley face and these words, “I think we’re going to get married.”

Josh, too, was smitten. Working in construction didn’t afford him the opportunity to meet many women. “I’d been waiting and praying for the right girl,” he said. “And I told my mom, ‘I’ll never find a girl through my job.’ ” The irony of falling in love with a co-worker’s daughter still makes him chuckle.

Although Kristin was just 18 and Josh only 20 when they were introduced, he said, “I knew it was right. I bought a ring two months after we met.”

While her dad had been instrumental in bringing them together, Josh was still nervous when he asked for permission to marry Kristin. “She’s the youngest in the family, and the only girl,” he said.

With her father’s blessing, Josh took Kristin to Twin Falls, Idaho, in March. There, in front of the Falls, Josh got down on one knee and proposed. They both get teary recalling that moment.

“My dad always told me I’d have this perfect guy,” Kristin said. “He described Josh to me before we ever met.”

It was only fitting that her father, a licensed minister, perform their wedding ceremony, but he almost didn’t make it. In the rush to get to the church on time, somehow he got left at home – without a car. And when he finally arrived at the church and saw his daughter in her wedding gown, he burst into tears. “He said, ‘I don’t think I can do this,’ ” Kristin recalled. “He cried all the way down the aisle.” However, he was able to conduct the wedding. “He did better than I though he would,” his daughter said.

The couple feels blessed to have found each other. “She’s strong in all the areas I’m weak,” Josh said. “She’s a perfect counterbalance.”

As they talked about their dreams for the future, Kristin’s eyes sparkled. “I’m looking forward to starting a family,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to be a mom.”

Her husband said, “I’m looking forward to growing old together.” He paused and looked into his bride’s eyes. “It’s so nice to be able to go home and see my best friend every night.”