Details ...
Wedding Day!
Sunday, April 24, 2022
The wedding will begin at 4:00pm Central Time
Wedding colors:
Sage green, ivory and white, and champagne
Registry Information:
Bed, Bath & Beyond & Pottery Barn
Their Story...
Austin Joaquin:
My family was introduced to Remnant Fellowship by a close family friend who had been attending services. In 2008, my sister and I became members alongside my mother, and all these years later, that decision completely shaped the way my life has turned out for the better.
I grew up in a small town in Minnesota, and we worshiped with Remnant virtually from home. While I have always fully supported everything I learned from church, it wasn’t until I was 18 that I truly understood the importance of taking responsibility for my own relationship with God. Throughout my teenage years, I found my mind often running away with worry, and this developed a root of anxiety. Late 2017 was the year I really started to learn how to take those worries and give them up to God, putting into practice what I had learned through church—that God will always take care of those who seek Him with all their worries and needs.
This engagement has been a beautiful time of growing closer and examining our hearts in order to prepare ourselves for a Godly marriage, one that will be pleasing to God. I am so in awe that God is giving me this opportunity to marry Ariel, who I know is going to have God and His Kingdom in the forefront of her mind always.- Austin
Shortly after I really started seeking God in everything, I first noticed Ariel at our church’s summer day camp. I wasn’t able to see her again until a few months later when God provided me with the opportunity to come back to Tennessee for a few weeks. At this point, only God knew the desires of my heart. Shortly after that, I was given the opportunity to get to know Ariel through a mutual friend, and from that point on, we were constantly in contact, whether it be texting or calling, and I even got to visit TN a few times.
In the summer of 2018, God provided me with the opportunity to move to TN to be closer to the Church and the Saints, and my relationship with God really started to take off! Over the past four years, Ariel and I have been able to take classes with friends, attend Bible studies, and dig into the lessons given by our amazing leadership and sermons from our church founder Gwen Shamblin Lara, who walked before us and spent every moment teaching others about God’s Love. In doing this, we have been able to grow our love for each other along with our love for God.
I am so grateful for the abundant opportunities that have been provided to me through Remnant Fellowship Church, as well as the amazing friends and role models I get to look up to as I strive to be more Christ-like each day. I also want to thank our parents and our church leadership for guiding us down this path and teaching us how to live an upright life that pleases God. Because of what we've been shown, I am at peace knowing that we can establish a Godly marriage that lasts.
This engagement has been a beautiful time of growing closer and examining our hearts in order to prepare ourselves for a Godly marriage, one that will be pleasing to God. I am so in awe that God is giving me this opportunity to marry Ariel, whom I know is going to have God and His Kingdom in the forefront of her mind always.
Ariel Ottinger:
My family joined Remnant Fellowship in 2004 while we were still living in Colorado. About two years later, my parents made the decision to move our family to Brentwood, Tennessee. I didn’t realize it at the time because of my young age, but their leap of faith changed all of our lives and played a tremendous role in getting me where I am today.
Growing up in this church, I always believed the Biblical teachings and looked up to Gwen Lara as a mentor and church leader, but I didn’t learn to take personal responsibility for my walk with God until August of 2017. That fall, I decided to give it everything I had and jump headfirst into building a personal relationship with God and Jesus Christ. I saw so much fruit in my life over those next few months, and all of it started to transform not only my relationship with God, but also my friendships and relationships with other people as well. I remember Elizabeth Hannah sharing about how a friendship with God is the most important relationship to have and that it should come first before anything worldly. After making that my top priority, I was amazed to see how everything else simply fell into place.
It’s been beautiful to walk out this message alongside Austin, and it truly is the most humbling and convicting experience to be able to love one another with the principles that have been taught from God through our church. Making God the center of our relationship has brought us closer together, and I can truly say that I love Austin more now than ever—and even more when God is the focus of it all..- Ariel
It was just a few months later that I was introduced to Austin Joaquin through a friend, not knowing anything special was going to come of it. Austin had been living in Minnesota at the time, and I lived here in Brentwood. However, our friendship continued virtually after he returned home, and our virtual friendship soon developed into a deeper relationship. Within a few months, God provided Austin with the opportunity to move down to Tennessee, and we have been able to build our relationship on God and His message in person for the past three and a half years. I can truly say that God orchestrated the timing perfectly, and He knew the desires of my heart even when I was least expecting a relationship.
Over the past four years, Austin and I have had the opportunity to not only grow our relationship with one another but also grow our relationships with God together. It’s been beautiful to walk out this message alongside each other, and it truly is the most humbling and convicting experience to be able to love one another with the principles that have been taught from God through our church. It is so true what Gwen has always said, “you fall in love with what you focus on.” Making God the center of our relationship has not only made us fall for Him more, but in turn has brought us closer together, and I can truly say that I love Austin more now than ever—and even more when God is the focus of it all.
Austin and I have been very fortunate to have amazing role models to look up to and imitate. I’m so grateful to my parents Ted and Larissa Ottinger for raising me here at Remnant Fellowship and for sacrificing so much to give me a life that would imitate Jesus Christ. They took a leap of faith in order for our family to have this amazing opportunity, and the fruit from their choice has made everything worth it. God does give back tenfold! I’m also very grateful for Ronica and Daniel Joaquin for everything they did to raise Austin into the steadfast God-fearing man he is today.
I am forever grateful to God for putting Austin in my life. He is truly one of the most upright men I’ve ever met, and he continues to convict me every day with his patient and quiet spirit, always looking for the leading of God and seeking advice from Godly examples in making the best decisions. I have the utmost confidence in Austin’s ability to lead our household to please God daily. I am so excited to start this life for God together going forward in perfect unity as one, and I pray we can make God's Kingdom happy and be lights to further and serve Him!
