Kayla + Josh’s Wanderlove Story

Her Name: Kayla Roznowski
Her Birthplace: Newport News, VA
His Name: Joshua Pike
His Birthplace: Baltimore, MD

Where did you meet? Richmond, VA. I was working for a company as a field research photographer which required me to have a company car. My company decided to install cameras in all the vehicles and sent me to Richmond (a two hour drive from VA Beach where I was currently living as a single momma to my three boys) to a camera shop for an installation. Josh happened to be the sales rep assigned to manage the install.  When he walked in and I looked up (and will never forget the feeling of my face snapping back like oh, hello!) our eyes met and he smiled at me and I knew I was blushing so I immediately looked down at my phone. He asked my name and then after discussing the car for five mins he took the keys and I went to the waiting area. I was there for two hours waiting and during that time he found any reason he could to come talk to me. He gave me his phone number before I left, beet red, and said if you ever want to call or text me please do.  We ended up having so much in common and such an easy way of talking right away, like we had always known each other. One of the biggest things that we say struck us both were our eyes, we both felt safe and connected. We went on our first date that Friday, second date Sunday and within three months were engaged, living together and growing our family. We thank that company I used to work for because we never would have without that tiny little camera. He eventually told me four months later that my camera install was done within 15 mins but he had to talk to me as long as he could! He has since moved two hours from Richmond to Virginia Beach and transferred jobs all so he could be a part of our lives and be there for me and my boys.

Can you identify specific decisions or life events that brought you together? If I had not taken that job our paths may never had crossed! We both feel so strongly that this is fate. We know our strong, deep connection is a rarity in the world and we cherish each other, every second we get to spend together and our kids. We both know that every life decision we have made, every choice, every heartbreak, every loss, every move we made led us to this moment of finding the most amazing person for each other. We both know we deserve each other and we do not take it for granted. We both lost parents at a young age, him 15 both parents at once in a scuba diving tragedy, my mother passed away due to suicide when I was 16. We believe that even those huge life events led our paths to cross in a spiritual way.

What were your first impressions of each other and what initially attracted you? Instant feelings of comfort, safety and kindness. His green eyes and ability to make me laugh. The powerful feeling that we had such a strong connection of our souls and minds. We were very attracted to each other but it was honestly our souls that attracted each other the most.

As you saw more of each other, what really made you fall in love? The way that we could be so open with each other, and weird! We both have very similar personalities, and in both of our lives, we have never been with a person that would allow us to just be ourselves.

Did your love face any big challenges? Any differences you had to work through? Not at all. One of the best things about us is no matter what challenges we had along the way, we are able to just stick by each other and be there and figure out a way to make it through without any stress or pain. We are each others places of solitude, peace and comfort especially when all the kids get crazy and life gets stressful, we always find the calm in each other. We make it a priority to communicate freely and allow each other to share emotions, problems, and any issue openly.

If married or engaged, who proposed and how? When? Josh: Technically, Bentley Mccormick proposed! I first had a breakfast meeting with her father and asked for his permission prior to proposing. He didn’t even let me get the question out and just looked at me and said I stand behind and support you 100% percent!

Knowing how important photography is to Kayla helped me to come up with the plan. I recruited my friend Aaron to assist and we put everything in motion. While I was at work one day, I called Kayla and told her I had a customer that came in to get a radio installed and just so happened to mention he was getting engaged that day and his photographer had cancelled and he was frantically trying to find someone to take photos of the proposal! I told Kayla that I’d recommended her and provided her email address. Of course all of this was made up! I created a fake email address and sent an inquiry to Kayla’s business page under the name ‘Bentley McCormick’ telling her the story of what happened and asking if she was available. When she agreed, I gave her Aaron’s phone number.

I got off work early because she had to hurry up and get to the place that Bentley was about to propose to his girlfriend. I got home and she was so excited to go capture this forever moment for Bentley and his bride to be! She rushed out the door, never realizing I had our babysitter sitting at the gas station around the corner so Kayla wouldn’t see her as she left. I quickly got all dressed up and hurried to the location where she was meeting Bentley. She and Bentley (Aaron) had a total game plan together of where he needed to take his girlfriend and where she would be so his girlfriend wouldn’t see her at all. When I got there I had to sneak around a building in the tall grass, through sand and all sorts of things, but I was in constant contact with Aaron so I knew where he would be and where Kayla was hiding. When I saw Kayla hiding in the tall grass sneaking around on her hand and knees, hiding behind signs, and just showing so much love for what she does…it made me fall in love all over again. Aaron and his girlfriend started walking closer and when I saw him pick his camera up I approached Kayla. She instantly turned around and told me to get down I was about to ruin the shot. I looked at her and I think that’s when she noticed I was dressed up. I asked her to stand up and I got down on one knee. Aaron and his girlfriend took pictures and video of the whole thing. It was a pretty awesome feeling hearing her say Yes to me!

Where do you live now? We live in Virginia Beach. Josh was living in Richmond at the time we met but he started commuting to VA Beach every day after work – a four hour round trip daily! He did this for almost two months before transferring jobs and moving down to the beach so he could be there for the me and my boys daily.

How do the places you have been together help define or shape your relationship? We love going on adventures and every place we visit or go together we make memories, always growing together. Being outside is something we love, mountains or the beach.

Are there any locations that are special to you as a couple? Hounds Tale in Williamsburg is the first place we went on a date (except we were both so nervous we barely touched our food and ended up talking non stop until 2am), Brock Environmental Center in VA Beach where Josh proposed and we had our first pictures taken together, Top Golf (second date location), and Richmond, VA, where we first met, will always be our most special place.

Do you see your location changing in the future? Josh: Yes, and sooner rather than later. We will be relocating once things fall into place with finding a new house and selling my current house. We want to be closer to my daughter (who lives in Richmond) and Kayla is very passionate about relocating ASAP which is another reason I love her with all my heart. Anyone that knows me know that my daughter is my baby girl and I will always go to the ends of the earth to make sure she is happy, healthy and protected at all costs. I honestly think that, when Kayla and I first started dating, she knew that she could trust me with anything and knew the kind of person/father I am after hearing me talking to my daughter. Having us all together as a family unit is one of the most important things for us and the kids.

In your own words, describe your style as a couple: Relaxed, united, beautiful chaos with 4 kids and one on the way, always getting weird together and just love – so much love.

What interests or passions do you share? Family, love, photography, going on adventures, and food!

Anything else I should know about you two?  Kayla: Our biggest goal is to always walk hand in hand together, side by side through life spending as much time together as possible. Josh even started working as my second shooter for weddings, picking up the camera and learning within a few months. We are hoping he will one day be a full-time shooter along with me so we can work together and build the business together.