Max and Sherri’s story marks a first for our Snapshots of a Marriage series here on Snippet & Ink… we’ve met couples who were separated by war or who even met in grade school, but Max and Sherri are the first to have met and fallen in love online before ever meeting in person!

Max and Sherri met when Max’s band was looking for a female musician to sing on a few tracks. He was already a fan of her music, so he used the opportunity to introduce himself by email. Lots of chatting and emailing ensued over four months before the couple met in person. They even sent each other songs they had written about each other before meeting! “Sherri and I literally started writing songs together for the singular purpose of wooing each other, and once we got the wooing done, it was to continue to expand upon our love for one another.”

Once they did meet, Max says, “It was amazing and I moved pretty much immediately to be near her. It was kind of a whirlwind thing but we really did give it time to grow. We didn’t want to rush things.” But before they knew it, they were married and starting their life together.

Since their wedding five years ago, Max and Sherri have used what they learned emailing back and forth in the early months of their relationship to their advantage. Sherri explains they always try to “be honest and over-communicate.” Max agrees this is a key to their marriage. He says there’s nothing that he’s ever felt he couldn’t communicate to Sherri, which helps the two keep from having lingering issues that eventually boil over.

From the beginning of their marriage, Max has made sure to fight against the stereotype he saw as a child. “I never really got advice from my parents about getting married. I think they just wanted me to make my own way. I do remember the social stereotypes about being married and about how much it saps your love for each other. I never believed in that. I just thought, it can’t be that way. I’m a hopeless romantic; I kind of decided to go the other way.” He adds, “We’ve never been more in love than we are today.” Clearly something’s working!

The couple’s advice to those planning their weddings today is exactly what you might think would come out of the mouth of such a creative person: “Try to understand that marriage is an extension of the passion that you have for each other. It’s not an archaic legal ceremony, it’s just basically a really intense form of commitment on a soul level. I think it’s like the most romantic thing in the world.” A wonderful, poetic reminder of how romantic marriage is, five years in.

(PS – Max and Sherri have recently released an album called Two of a Crime, so you can hear a few of the love songs that brought them together!)

“Snapshot of a Marriage” is a series from contributor Emily Westbrooks, who interviews couples on some of their secrets for a strong and successful marriage. With all of our focus on how to make your wedding special, we thought it was important to highlight some ways to make your marriage awesome, too! Click here to see previous Snapshots.

SNAPSHOT SUBMISSIONS  Do you know a married couple whose relationship you admire? Or maybe you’re married and want to share your words of wisdom! We’re now accepting submissions from couples who have been married for ten years or longer. Email Emily at [email protected] with your first names, how long you’ve been married, and a few sentences about why you’d like to be interviewed for our Snapshot of a Marriage series.