It's a blessing and an honor to witness the marriage of two people you love and respect, in whose relationship you have the utmost confidence. It's even more meaningful when they're not just two of your closest friends but also your coworkers, people you have watched meet and fall in love over coffee breaks and work lunches. And when the pastor who marries them and a good chunk of the wedding party are also the people you see at the office every day—it's a very special day, indeed.

On August 1st, many Christianity Today employees celebrated and even participated in the wedding of Kevin Emmert and Ashley Moore (now Emmert), both editors in the company (Kevin is assistant editor of Christianity Today magazine and Ashley is assistant editor of Church Law & Tax). Matt Woodley, managing editor of PreachingToday.com and pastor of Compassion Ministries at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois where the couple attends, presided over the ceremony. On Kevin's side stood Paul Pastor, associate editor for Leadership Journal and PreachingToday.com, as well as former CT employees John Raines and Andrew Stoddard. The bridesmaids included Sarah Scherf, another former coworker, and myself (I am managing editor of BuildingChurchLeaders.com). Amy Jackson, managing editor of SmallGroups.com, read a passage of Scripture, while former CTer Bonnie McMaken sang in the service. And many current and former employees were in attendance to celebrate the happy couple.

It was the first and only wedding I will ever attend to plug PreachingToday.com from the pulpit, but it will probably never be more fitting, as Matt Woodley pointed out in his homily—the site is the reason the couple met. Ashley had already been at CT for over a year when Kevin came to work as editorial coordinator for PreachingToday.com in 2011. It was over a year before the two started dating, but over that time they laid the groundwork for a relationship as they got to know each other as coworkers and as friends (while their other coworkers waited patiently for them to realize how perfect they were for each other).

When I started working at Christianity Today, I never could have guessed that I'd someday be standing up at a wedding surrounded by my coworkers and feel in my heart, these are my people. But it's a blessing I am delighted to have experienced. It's possible because of Christianity Today, because in the pursuit of a common mission we can come alongside each other not just as coworkers but as the family of God—some now connected as actual, legal family, but all of us connected through the blood of Christ.

Congratulations, Kevin and Ashley!

Laura Leonard is managing editor of BuildingChurchLeaders.com.