While Emily and I were both born and raised in Iowa and attended Iowa State at the same time, we did not officially meet until a study abroad trip in Valencia, Spain. It was there that we realized her sorority house was only two down from the fraternity I lived in. A friendship blossomed abroad and we spent the remaining years of school very close, but did not officially begin dating until I had left for dental school and she stayed to finish her last year of school.

Eventually, Emily took her dream job as a marine animal trainer down in Mississippi and our busy schedules did not allow the time or resources to visit each other, so we ended up separating for a few years while I finished school and she continued working as an animal trainer.

After graduating in 20202, I decided to move to Arizona to again be closer to family, and it was then that Emily decided to reach out and see how I was doing. As we quickly found out that we still shared feelings towards each other, we decided to try distance now that we had means to visit throughout the year. In the Fall of 2021, Emily was offered and accepted a training job in Arizona and promptly moved across the country once more. We have been together since with our 4 dogs helping keep our lives interesting!

With the craziness of life over the last few years, we decided to opt of a traditional wedding venue and gathering and instead with be doing a very small courthouse ceremony with just one witness allowed for each person, taking place on August 12, 2024.