ADAM AND KAT HAWLEY

“ We got on right away ... chatting on the phone all of the time. ” — Adam Hawley But their first attempts at dating were sidelined.

When Adam and Kat Hawley met at church, their budding relationship was both a romantic and religious experience.

Adam was working toward earning his doctorate in music, and he played guitar at New Beginning Christian Fellowship Church in Los Angeles County, California. Kat, a vocalist in high school and a competitive dancer, joined the church shortly after Adam.

Kat noticed that Adam was incredibly talented and attractive.

“It was his eyes, his smile and his kindness,” she recalled. “I had no idea that it would lead to where we are today. I couldn’t have foreseen that.”

The couple started working together musically, and over time, Adam accepted the position of musical director and Kat became a worship leader.

“She was very beautiful and easy to talk to, with a great smile,” Adam said. “We got on right away. We went from there, chatting on the phone all of the time.”

As they got to know each other, Kat and Adam sought to meet outside of church. But their first attempts at dating were sidelined.

“She had a dance concert, and I went to the wrong location,” Adam said. “I had a guitar concert, and got there an hour and 50 minutes late. I saw her very last number, and I felt bad. I missed pretty much her whole concert, so I said, ‘Do you want to hang out?’ We went to, of all places, Denny’s. Breakfast for dinner.”

Kat remembered their first “official” date differently. She lived in Chino, California, and Adam had to drive from Irvine. On the way, his car broke down.

“I think it was a Sunday,” Kat said. “My mom and grandmother had to find a car rental company that would get him a car and a towing company. Adam was under 25, so no one would rent a car to him. It was like this janky, shady rental car place by Ontario airport. We had to put all of Adam’s stuff in the rental car, and then we said, ‘OK, see you later.’ I thought, this guy is never going to want to talk to me again after all this trouble. But he said, ‘Wait. Aren’t we still going to the movies?’ So, we ended up going to the movies, and we had Mexican food beforehand. I think we had Cold Stone after.”

The couple were in college when Adam proposed, and it was completely unexpected.

“He came in through the door and said, ‘I have to show you something,’” Kat said. “At first, he asked me, ‘Am I supposed to get down on one knee?’”

“I said, ‘Why are you asking me?’ He told me to turn around, and he had set up a camera. He was recording it. It was one of those instances where my hair was a mess. I said, ‘Why would you record when I look like this?’ They say our significant others think we look our best when we think we look awful. It was super surprising and intimate. It was just the two of us.”

In 2008, Kat and Adam married on a yacht in Newport Beach, California, and honeymooned in Mexico. Adam left immediately afterward to tour Europe with The Manhattan Transfer.

Due to busy schedules and child-raising (they have a 14-year-old son), performing together is usually done professionally rather than for enjoyment.

“When I started doing my concerts, she initially did one song, and I thought it went really well,” Adam said. “Now she’s a huge part of my show. That happened organically over time.” continued from page 27

Kat added that when it’s just the two of them, with guitar and vocals, they connect and “get lost in the music together.”

“One of our favorite songs that we used to perform a lot, before we were even married, is ‘Falling in Love With Jesus.’”

Adam appreciates that, in addition to being a sounding board for his musical career, Kat also is a licensed makeup artist and hairstylist.

“She makes sure I look good,” he said. “Early in my career, I was on the road a lot, and she would be at home. Now, it has been nice