Forgotten food to forever A chance dinner leads to marriage

A chance dinner with an acquaintance led to a life together forever for Pep Pfluke and Patty Maxham.

Pfluke and Maxham met in April 2016. Pfluke, a Marine, was stationed in North Carolina at Camp Lejeune, while Maxham was living in Greensboro.

“I didn’t know her growing up, but I went to high school with her sister,” Pfluke said. “When I found out that she was living here, I reached out to her and said that if she needed anything or wanted to bring her friends to the beach (I was living on the coast at the time) to let me know. From there, we started chatting and eventually met for dinner in Raleigh.”

Maxham said she remembered being nervous for their first date, a dinner that happened “on a whim.”

“I remember being so nervous,” she said. “I was already 30 minutes late because I can’t parallel park to save my life, and in the middle of a city, this was definitely a problem for me.

“I walked in the restaurant and was trying to play it cool while I looked around for him. Right when I sat down though, it was like I was seeing someone I’d known for years.

“My first impression of Patty was kind of an immediate ‘wow’ moment,” Pfluke said. “On our first date, our conversation was so engaging, we didn’t even order dinner. We just sat there and talked for three hours.

“I kind of came away from that night knowing that there was a lot of potential in our future relationship and that I couldn’t wait to see her again.”

Maxham said she made a prophetic statement about their relationship to a friend after that date.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t call up one of my very good friends that same night and tell her ‘I think I’m going to marry this guy,’” she said. “Little did I know!”

Pfluke said he never had an exact moment where he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Maxham. He said the feeling was just there.

“I knew fairly early on that she was the person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with,” he said. “Everything about the relationship has just been so effortless. You could spend five minutes talking to Patty and realize that she has such a kind heart and genuinely cares about people. Seeing the value she put on her faith, family and friends made loving her easy.”

Maxham, however, said there was one moment where she realized that she would travel any distance to be with Pfluke. In the beginning of their relationship, the pair lived three hours away from each other.

“I remember one Friday night when I was in the car on my way to see Pep,” she said. “It had been a particularly rough week. I was teaching middle school at the time, and I remember just being mentally and spiritually drained by everything going on with my job. I was homesick and feeling like I wasn’t equipped to handle what life was throwing my way. I was an hour into the trip; I was so tired, grumpy, and thinking about the two hours I had left to go.

“Then, I immediately realized that I would drive 10 more hours if it meant that Pep was waiting for me on the other side. He was my place of comfort and joy, and he felt like home to me. It was that moment that it became so apparent that I didn’t ever want to spend a day without him.”

Pfluke proposed to Maxham during the weekend of July 4, 2017. He said he purchased the ring two months before the proposal.

He said he didn’t really have a plan for the proposal, except that he wanted to do it on the beach with their family near.

“Both of our families were together in Panama City Beach for the holiday,” he said. “The plan was for Patty and I to go out to the beach to set up chairs right at sunset to watch the fireworks on the beach. Our families were going to join us on the beach about 30 minutes after we went out there. So, I kind of had a time constraint on when it needed to happen.

“We were out on the beach for about 20 minutes and started to walk back to the house to wait for our family, and that’s when I proposed. Our families joined us on the beach shortly thereafter, and we celebrated with fireworks and champagne.”

Maxham said the proposal was a complete surprise.

“I was not expecting it at the time, but looking back, it couldn’t have been any more perfect for us,” she said. “His family had invited my parents down for the (July 4th) weekend. We spent the majority of the day at the pool, grilling out and riding bikes.”

She said the pair went to the beach early to set up chairs for the families. They talked about how happy they were that they were together with their families.

“We were sitting there on the sand talking about how great the weekend was and how happy we were that our families were together,” she said. “We were walking back up to the house when he grabbed my hand and turned me around. The last thing I fully remember is him getting down on one knee. I was just a puddle after that.

“Our families showed up about 15 minutes later, and we spent the rest of the night celebrating and watching fireworks. (It was) definitely my most favorite night.”

Pfluke said he just wants a wedding that will make his fiancé happy.

“Patty did an awesome job finding an incredible venue,” he said. “I’m involved as much as she wants me to be, but for the most part, I let her do the heavy lifting. My opinion about all things wedding planning is that I want the wedding and reception to be what Patty wants it to be. This opinion seems to be the right one 100 percent of the time.”

Maxham said wedding planning has been a “smooth” process, and she is thankful for her mother and future mother-in-law’s help planning the wedding.

“We knew we wanted to get married in Asheville, NC,” she said. “North Carolina has become our home, and we love everything about it. I fell in love with a venue, and after that, everything else just fell into place.

“My mom and Pep’s mom have been such a huge help to me, though, and I am so thankful for everything they’ve done. June 16th cannot come fast enough.”

The couple is ready to start their life together. Pfluke said he believes life after the wedding will be “like winning the lottery.” Maxham described life with Pfluke as “the ultimate adventure.”

“I think life with Patty by my side will be like winning the lottery,” he said. “I probably don’t deserve it, but I am immeasurably grateful. And like winning the lottery, Patty enriches my life in more ways than I can count.” 

“I think my life with Pep will be the ultimate adventure,” she said. “His spontaneity and love of traveling and having new experiences makes for the best memories. I cannot wait to greet every new adventure that comes our way with him by my side.”

The couple will be married on June 16, in Asheville, N.C.