We would love to say we met organically, sparked great conversation, and the rest was history... but we would be lying. We met over a dating app in May of 2018. Emily carried the conversation, Brent yawned the entire evening, and we didn't know if we would see one another again.

At the time, we were living over five hours apart. Emily resided with Bear & Bambi outside of Spokane, WA and Brent was on the other side of the mountains in Everett. Emily still says she left the evening thinking Brent wanted nothing to do with her. To her surprise, he texted her the next day and the next day and the one after that. From there, we made a point to see one another at least once a month.

Maybe fate, maybe good timing, Emily got the opportunity to transfer to Seattle with work. We then decided to give things between us a real go. Emily moved to Issaquah, WA and Brent to the neighboring Newcastle area. We were within 15 minutes of one another and saw each other multiple times a week. Brent introduced Emily to Seinfeld and the world of IPAs. Emily introduced Brent to meals other than chicken and rice and country music.

Like most big decisions in our relationship, Emily gently prompted Brent for the next move... quite literally a move. We rented our first home together in May 2020 - a townhouse on the south end of Lake Washington. Bear and Bambi came with, of course. Little did they know they would be getting company. Enter stage left, Franklin our beloved golden retriever. Note: a special detail is that Franklin was born on Brent's parents' 50th wedding anniversary. He was meant to be.

First comes love, then a dog, then a house. Or something like that. Our next big chapter was home buying. Although Emily's immediate family mostly resides in Kansas, family is extremely important to us both. When picking our first house we knew we wanted to stay close to Brent's family. All things considered; we had an easy go. We heard horror stories of all cash offers, bidding wars, and rejection. We found our home within a matter of two weeks and our first offer was accepted. Bonus, we acquired an outdoor city kitty, Luna! Unbeknownst to us, a pipe in the wall would burst shortly after moving in. We live to tell the story, while standing on all new floors.

Here is the part you all have been waiting for (Emily too). We were on our way to Scottsdale, AZ to meet up with our good friends for a long weekend of sun, golf, and In-N-Out. It was approximately 4:15 AM in the morning and we just finished packing up the car and closing up the house. Emily turned around to find Brent getting down on one knee in the middle of our kitchen, the heart of our first home. It was perfect - intimate, meaningful, and a moment all our own. We will cherish this memory forever.

Speaking of memories, we cannot wait to make more memories with you all on our wedding day! We are beyond thrilled to bring the people we care most about together for the very first time. We love you and we cannot wait to celebrate with you!