Weddings
A True Love Saves the First Kiss
Derek and Grace always knew they wanted to save their first kiss for their wedding day. To them, it was worth the wait.
By Derek and Grace Hammeke, as told to Kelsey Brown | Photos by 9Art Photography
Dec 2015
Derek and Grace Hammeke's wedding day was special in many ways, but one thing stood out a bit more than the rest: The couple decided to save their very first kiss, and they shared it on the big day in front of all of their family and friends.
Grace's Side of the Story:
Derek and I started our relationship knowing we both didn’t want physical things to get in the way of actually getting to know each other.
Derek and I started our relationship knowing we both didn’t want physical things to get in the way of actually getting to know each other.
We wanted to let Him have all the glory, knowing that if we just focused on God and each other, that He would help us with the physical stuff once we got married.
Our first kiss was the best kiss I’ve ever had. It wasn’t anything huge, just a little peck. But I knew at that moment we were going to be inseparable.
I loved sharing that with my family and friends, and showing that if you set your mind to something, you can do it with God’s help.
It was a challenge to save our first kiss, but we just decided to make that commitment, and we stuck through it.
Derek definitely has always said, “I want to love you. We’re not perfect, and we’re going to love each other past that.” Because that’s what Christ does for us. He loves us past our mistakes and sins, and I have seen so much of Christ through Derek. I couldn’t be more happy with who I ended up with.
Derek's Side of the Story:
When we first started dating, I made it clear I wanted us to just focus on each other and the relationship we were trying to build and not have any physical things get in the way.
In a previous relationship that wasn’t the case, and I felt if I ever got into another relationship again, I would like to save all that for later.
I went to Ozark Christian College and got a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Literature. In studying the scriptures and learning about God, it truly became clear to me that that was how I wanted to live my life.
When I met Grace, I wanted to set us off in that direction, and she was very much okay with that. It helped us focus on working through struggles and get to what we really wanted: engagement and marriage.
Grace was more nervous than me about having our first kiss in front of all those people. On the wedding day, when I finally gave her a kiss, I just was like, “Whoa, I’d like to do that again!”
I think the real reason we chose to go down that road, was because of a guy I met freshman year. He and his fiancé had their first kiss on their wedding day, and I respected that so much. It was such an example for me, and it’s been amazing to have done it this way.
