Our story began at our sophomore year Fall Retreat for Salt Company. Eli thought he recognized his friend, who is also named Emily, and called out her name. To his surprise, Emily, who was not the friend he expected, turned around in response to my name being called. Eli sheepishly turned around to avoid an awkward encounter, but this was the first time he noticed me. I have zero recollection of this incident.

It took a few months for Eli to work up the nerve to talk to me for real. To his luck, one night at Salt, I just so happened to sit near him, and we both happened to be wearing jean jackets. After Salt, Eli introduced himself, saying, "Hey, I like your jean jacket." I remembered him by his beautiful smile. This began a string of occasional conversations after church services.

In April of 2023, I posted a song on my story for my best friend, Olivia's, birthday. Eli responded to the post and started a conversation about music, suggesting that we should listen to music together sometime (very smooth).

We proceeded to go on a few dates that late spring until I left for my mission trip to Kenya over the summer. While I was there, we did not communicate at all in order to stay focused on where the Lord had placed us both. However, neither one of us forgot about the other. Eli consistently updated his family and friends on how many days until his "lady friend" would return. His patience paid off when I flew home and reached out to see how Eli was doing (and if he was still available). We officially started dating on July 22, 2023! The following summer, we both went on mission trips to different locations, although this time, we kept in more regular contact :)

Eli proposed on September 7, 2024, while we were on a walk by the river! We're so incredibly excited to celebrate with the people we love in June and begin our future together! Thank you all for being here <3