Peter and Emily met on Hinge in June of 2018. Peter's first message was "Cubs or Sox?" in relation to one of Emily's profile comments. Thankfully "Cubs" was the right answer. After a few weeks they met for their first date at Sheffield's on July 3, 2018. It only took them a few months to make their way to Wrigley for their first of many games together.

Emily and Peter spent the first few months together making memories on their own. Other than Emily's roommate, Heather, they did not meet each other's friends until October. The weekend of October 19th the floodgates opened. Peter met Emily's friends at her friend Elise's birthday party and the next night Emily met Peter's friends for a brewery crawl. To cap it off, Peter asked Emily to be his girlfriend.

As they went into their first winter together Peter told Emily that she didn't have to learn how to ski, but that he spent most weekends in the winter chasing the snow. Emily agreed to have Peter teach her, which showed her exactly how much patience he had (and how much she did not). They had fun on their two ski trips to Chestnut Mountain. That winter, Emily found a reason to actually enjoy the cold and Peter found himself a new ski partner.

To celebrate their first anniversary, Peter planned a trip to Traverse City, MI where they went on winery tours and explored Mackinaw Island. They even stayed at their first bed and breakfast, something they wouldn't do again until their trip to Maine.

While Emily and Peter had traveled together locally, they decided to test just how compatible of travel partners they were when Peter joined Emily in Germany for the Berlin Marathon. Turns out they enjoyed the same balance of adventure and relaxation. They drank beer at Oktoberfest and did a road trip through part of Switzerland. Emily will admit that she planned up until the Marathon (a whole 2 days) and Peter planned the rest of the trip. They came home eager to travel together more soon.

2020 brought a lot of change to the world. It is also the year that Emily and Peter moved in together. They carried her desk and a small bag down the alley that separated their apartments in March 2020 and she never really went back. They "officially" moved in when her lease ended in July.

To get a break from their tight space Emily and Peter took full advantage of their newfound work from home set up. They took many COVID safe road trips including their trip to "middle of no where" Kentucky.

To celebrate their second anniversary Emily and Peter took another trip, this time to Copper Harbor, Michigan. Peter had been there in the winter to ski, but had always wanted to go in the summer. An off grid cabin overlooking Lake Superior and lots of outdoor activities seemed like the perfect (and safe) trip to take. It was on this trip that Peter convinced Emily to try mountain biking for the first time, it was a challenge to say the least, but they were hooked. Later that month they bought bikes of their own.

If their trip to Europe was the first test of their travel compatibility, their two week road trip out west was certainly the biggest. They set off together the day after Christmas, driving from Chicago to Wyoming in one shot. They spent the next two weeks chasing the snow through Wyoming and Utah. They met up with friends at Grand Targhee and saw Emily's aunt in Moab. They celebrated the new year at an Airbnb in Idaho. Emily even took her second professional lesson so Peter could ski some of the fun stuff. The trip itself was loads of fun, but the drive home was long enough that they decided to fly on any future trips out west.

Emily and Peter spent 2021 traveling, mountain biking, hiking and skiing. One of their favorite trips was a road trip to North Carolina, where they worked from home looking out over the Blue Ridge Mountains and explored Asheville over the long weekend.

When they weren't traveling they celebrated friends' weddings and engagements. They also started searching for a new place to live together.

In December of 2021 Emily and Peter, finally, bought their condo in Roscoe Village. Having started looking in March, you could say this was a long time coming. They moved in after Christmas and started the process of making their new place a home.

2022 started with Peter's first beach vacation, when he joined Emily for her family's annual trip away from the cold weather. The year passed quickly in a flurry of trips, marathon training (for Emily), and wedding related activities for the four weddings they attended that year.

During this busy year Peter started covertly looking for engagement rings and starting his plan. Conveniently one of those trips was Emily's trip to France for work. With her in another country, Peter reached out to her sister, Grace, with what he said was "initial research" into ring shopping. In reality he was hoping to confirm what he had already picked out.

To decompress after a busy wedding season, Emily planned a 10 day vacation over Labor Day. Acadia National Park had been high on her list of places to visit, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. They started the trip in Portland, Maine. They explored the city, went mountain biking in Vermont, even making their own brewery tour, before heading down the coast to Bar Harbor.

Emily was very proud that unlike every other trip they'd taken she had planned the whole thing, or so she thought...

When they woke up it was raining, they had a lazy morning before hitting the road for the drive from Portland to Bar Harbor. On the drive down the coast, they stopped in Camden, Maine. Peter had found a hike there that he wanted to try before they got lunch in town.

When they pulled up the parking lot was empty, the rain keeping most people away from the hike. After only a little convincing, Peter and Emily started their hike up Mt Bald in a light drizzle. Emily led the way, with Peter following behind her (later she would learn he was taking pictures of her, unaware of what was to come). At one point when they got to a particularly slick part of rock, Emily asked if Peter thought they should turn back. He promised it would be worth it at the top, both of them laughed knowing the view would likely be covered in fog.

At the top of the hike, Peter went a bit further to scope out the perfect spot. When he called Emily over and grabbed her hands. It was at that point Emily realized what was happening. Peter proposed and of course Emily said Yes!