He watched her grow up and had been a spiritual mentor to her. So, when Alex Mutagubya finished university and began to pray for a partner to share his life, he was admittedly rattled by signs that Faith Kasumba was "the one."

"I kept on saying, 'No, God it can't be. She is still too young,'" Alex recalls, additionally shaken by their six year age difference. "She was so innocent of what was going on in me and I was so mad at myself for thinking about her in this way."

"I began dodging her," Alex says. But in February of 2005, as Faith prepared to depart for the boarding school where she would finish high school, Alex's courage was bolstered. As they shared a farewell lunch, Alex's palms were sweaty, but, "the moment I began speaking," he says, "there is a boldness that enveloped me and a calmness that settled upon me." Looking directly into her unsuspecting eyes, Alex professed: "Faith, I love you. I have thought about this, I have tried to fight it, but I can't. It is you I want to spend my life with."

Faith said she'd need time to consider his proposal. "How much time?" Alex asked. "You will have to give me about three months," she replied. A month later, however, Faith phoned with the answer he desired.

Faith and Alex were both sponsored through Africa Renewal Ministries (ARM), a non-profit that matches donors with impoverished Ugandan children. Alex explains, "When I got the sponsorship, that meant I had the opportunity to go to school; I was given a uniform, a blanket and a pair of shoes." After university, Alex became the assistant to ARM's Chief Executive Officer, Pastor Peter Kasirivu. In 2006, he led ARM's children's choir, Mwangaza, during an eight-month U.S. tour. Being away from Faith, he says, "was one of the hardest things I had to endure."

Annette Biggers met Alex when she hosted choir members at her California home. When Alex told her of his impending marriage, she blurted out, "I am coming to photograph your wedding."

During the three weeks she spent in Africa, Annette was frequently moved to tears by the conditions, but she was also impressed by the African people and "how deeply they love one another."

The couple's wedding preparations began with the March 10 Introduction Ceremony, during which Alex presented Faith's parents with a dowry of cows, clothing, sugar, rice and other gifts. In exchange, he received their written consent to marry Faith. Alex says this traditional celebration was a "dramatic and colossal event" attended by 300 people.

Pastor Peter, who served as Faith's guardian for a time, presided over their Christian wedding ceremony two weeks later. Faith wore a rented gown; her hair was styled the day before with fire-heated combs during a ten-hour salon session.

As they rode to the reception at a school hall in Kabalagala, the newlyweds, who had still never kissed, told Annette they hoped to "show children the beauty of waiting, and the reward."

Alex explains, "Not many children in our society have formal weddings. So many get pregnant before they are married, before they are finished with school. We are leaders in our society. So many people look at what we do and take it to be the right thing."

Mwangaza serenaded the couple, who were pleased that although there were 400 chairs, many guests most uninvited still couldn't find seats. "In our culture, an occasion's success is measured by the number of people who come," Alex says.

Food supplies were rapidly depleted. "Many times," says Annette, "the electricity would turn off in the middle of the reception," but when the stereo cut out, "people just kept singing a cappella." The images she left behind show only joy none of the hardships.

"Faith is the poorest person I have ever met," says Annette. "For one day, she got to be a princess. Of all the people in the world, I think she deserved it most."

Alex hopes to return to the United States in the fall with Faith by his side to complete a Masters of Divinity, while she pursues her undergraduate education. Finding the means to achieve their dreams is a daunting obstacle. Annette says, "I told them that God will provide for them."

"It's going to be a challenge, but I know we can make it," says Faith.