Love Unexpected: A true-life romance about a woman who took her dream trip and found unexpected love

Dawn, a ballet dancer, embarks on her two-week dream tour of Eastern Europe. Love is the last thing on her mind, but destiny has other plans. Why is it every time her eyes meet Willy’s an inexplicable connection ignites, sending sparks that both thrill and terrify her?
With numerous obstacles between them, Dawn resolves to keep things platonic, even as the pull between them grows stronger.
In this miraculous whirlwind romance, Dawn learns that sometimes love doesn’t care about geography or logic. Will she take a leap of faith into the unknown?

More info and photos of Dawn & Willy here

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⁠Music credits:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com and @joeEPmusic

You’ve heard how our story began…

but what did it take to build a life together after “I do”?

In this Q&A bonus episode, I share what our first year of marriage really looked like—behind the scenes.

The parts that were hard.
The parts we didn’t expect.

Walking through depression…
navigating financial struggles…
and trying to build a life together when everything still felt uncertain.

But in the middle of it, something shifted.

A moment of reconnection that changed the direction of our relationship—and gave us the strength to keep moving forward.

And from there…

our story took turns we never could have planned.

Opening a dance studio.
Moving across the country.
Teaching at one of the largest worship conferences in the country.
And eventually building something together—side by side—that reached far beyond what we imagined.

What started as survival…
became creativity.
became purpose.
became impact.

And along the way, something new was born—

a desire to tell love stories beyond just our own.

A journey that would eventually lead me to create Unexpected Love Stories, where I now get to sit with others and share the incredible ways love finds each of us.

This is the part of the story that doesn’t always get told—

how love grows after the beginning.

And how, even in the hardest seasons…

it can become something stronger than you ever expected.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic

You’ve heard the story…

but what happened after the honeymoon?

In this Q&A bonus episode, Tom and I answer your questions and step into the moments that came next—the ones we didn’t fully share along the way.

From journaling my love story journey in real time…
to leading a mission team the next summer back to Poland and Ukraine where it all began.

I reminisce about our second honeymoon through Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands—and what it was like meeting Wiesiek’s family.

But we also open up about the parts that were harder to tell.

The heartbreak we experienced while trying to grow our family…
and the moment everything shifted.

A vision that met me in the middle of loss—
and brought a kind of healing I never expected.

This is only part of the story.

In Part 2, we continue the conversation—sharing even more of what happened next, what we learned along the way, and how our story kept unfolding.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic

The celebration didn’t end with the ceremony.

At the reception, everyone danced, ate, toasted, and celebrated for hours.

And then, for the first time…

Wiesiek and I were alone.

Nervous.
Tender.
Eager.

The next day, with our bags already packed, we left for Chattanooga.

For five days, the world slowed down.

And for the first time…

we could begin to truly know each other—

face to face,
in this new life we had just stepped into together.

Without a schedule.
Without the pressure.

Just us.

And as the week came to an end, I realized—

this wasn’t just a honeymoon.

It was the beginning of truly knowing the man I had married.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic

The day had finally arrived.

After everything we had been through, we were standing on the edge of the moment we had fought so hard for.

And from the very beginning…

it was beautiful.

Even though a small part of me had hoped for a different kind of proposal, the day unfolded in ways I could have never imagined.

Friends and family gathered from near and far.

Dancers danced.

Singers and musicians filled the room with sound.

Pastors spoke blessings over us.

It wasn’t just a wedding—

it was a celebration of who we are…
and everything we had walked through to get there.

And in the middle of it all, something settled deep inside me.

Months earlier, a promise had been spoken over my life—
that I would go to Eastern Europe,
meet my husband,
and be married that same year.

And now…

I was standing in it.

Because this day—
this moment—
was more beautiful than I had ever dreamed.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic

After everything we had been through… we were finally together.

When Vee and Sara arrived in the United States, the reunion felt like something out of a dream.

After months apart, we were finally in the same place again.

But there was no time to slow down.

With only 17 days until the wedding, life moved quickly—
teaching, planning, introducing them to everyone…
and watching as they were welcomed with open arms.

Even Sara, despite the language barrier, made friends almost immediately.

Everything seemed to be falling into place.

The kind of moments you imagine… and hope for.

Until the night before the wedding.

When something unexpected unsettled my heart.

A quiet realization I couldn’t ignore—

he had never actually asked me to marry him.

And I had always dreamed of a proposal.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic

I wasn’t prepared for what I heard.

After everything we had been through…

I pressed play—

and realized he was trying to let me go.

Not because he didn’t love me—

but because he believed he couldn’t give me the life I had always wanted.

He was trying to do the right thing.

But I couldn’t accept it.

I knew God had brought us together—

and I believed He would make a way for us.

So I did something I had never done before—

I sent a telegram.

And the next day…

he called me.

And I told him—

this wasn’t the end of our story.

Not even close.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic

I set a wedding date… and hoped he’d make it.

Wiesiek’s brother and his family came to the U.S. on vacation… and brought his paperwork with them.

Just six weeks stood between us and the wedding.

There was only one problem…

we didn’t even know if he’d be there.

And with only cassette tapes and letters between us, every conversation took weeks—and every misunderstanding lasted even longer.

Then something surfaced—
a detail about his past I hadn’t known.

And just like that…
we had our first real fight.

And then—

a cassette arrived.

I pressed play…

and what I heard—

I wasn’t prepared for.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic

I thought I had done everything I could.

But nothing about this was simple.

After realizing how complicated it would be to bring Wiesiek to the United States, I decided to do something bold—

I gathered letters.

Over 25 people shared their thoughts about our relationship, our story, and what they believed about us.

I compiled everything—letters, photos, our story—
and sent it to the American Embassy in Warsaw…
and to Washington, D.C.

And then something unexpected happened.

I got a call.

From D.C.

Then another.

Suddenly, people I had never met were stepping in—
doing everything they could to help bring him to me.

But even with their help…

everything still hung in the balance.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic

You’ve heard my side of the story…

now it’s time to hear his.

In this bonus episode, Tom sits down with Wiesiek/Vee to talk about what was happening through his eyes during those two weeks in Europe.

When did he first notice me?
When did it become something more?
And when did he know he was falling in love?

For the first time, he shares his perspective on the moments we experienced together—what he was thinking, what he was feeling, and what he almost didn’t say.

He also opens up about what it was like for Sara to meet me, the reality of the visa process, and the pressure he felt as time was running out.

Because while I was moving forward in the U.S.A.—making plans, setting things in motion…

he was making tough decisions in Poland.

Preparing for a life that would take him far from everything he knew—

and moving faster…

than I ever realized.

See pictures and videos related to this episode ⁠here⁠.

Please subscribe to this podcast on ⁠Spotify⁠

Music:

Where to Next by Ritchie Everett | Courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com

Other music by ⁠@JoeEPmusic