Alex and Emily both attended the University of North Florida. Although they shared mutual friends and knew who each other were, they never formally met. After graduating, Emily moved to Washington D.C. to work at Georgetown University before heading to LSU for graduate school and finally landing in Miami. Alex began his career in Jacksonville and Orlando before he ultimately landed back home in Bradenton, FL.

In a fortunate turn of events, 13 years after they first saw each other, Alex and Emily reconnected in Bradenton, FL while Emily was in town from Miami visiting family. Her mom happened to move from Idaho to Bradenton, only a few miles away from Alex. When Alex asked Emily to grab a drink at Big Top Brewery, Emily extended her trip so she could attend. Notorious for her poor sense of direction, Emily was 20-minutes late due to going to the wrong location. When she made it, Alex and Emily hit it off, talking and laughing nonstop. Comically, she also had to end the date early after receiving frantic calls from her brother in what turned out to be a false alarm vet emergency with her dog. Pictures of Lieba at the vet were sent to Alex to ensure he did not think she was trying to ditch him!

For the next 8 months, Emily and Alex made the 4 hour drive back and forth between Miami and Bradenton nearly every weekend to see each other. They bonded over espresso martinis, asian food, Miami's Tea Room, career aspirations, pickleball, and ideas for future travel.

Emily moved from Miami to Bradenton, FL to close the distance between the two. Now that they live in the same town, they enjoy sharpening their pickleball skills, watching pro pickleball, and even driving across the state to attend pro pickleball tournaments - ha! They are also grateful for and cherish all the time they get to spend together with local family, friends, and their dogs.

For their one year anniversary, as a part of their gifts, Alex and Emily hilariously gifted each other the same framed photo.

To honor Emily's love of games, they hosted their first annual Christmas Family Game Night. Two teams, a homemade trophy, lottery pranks, and a lot of competitiveness, made for a comical night!

In the spring of 2024, puppy life swiftly took over when Emily and Alex adopted their 8-week old rambunctious puppy, Theo. Theo loves his stuffed bow tie, playing tug a war, and constantly yearning for the attention of his dog sister, Lieba. Although Lieba was initially skeptical of Theo and his boundless energy, they now don't leave each others' sides.

Alex came up with a clever rouse of convincing Emily they were going to a friend's dinner party in Anna Maria Island but it turned out he had a romantic beach proposal prepared. Alex recreated one of their first and favorite dates where they enjoyed sushi and champagne at sunset on that same beach. Following the proposal, their families joined them for dinner and drinks in a beautiful beach suite. Their friends were waiting at a nearby bar with champagne to toast and celebrate!

We are so grateful and excited for the future with all of our adventures ahead. We are honored for you to join us in this celebration early next year.