Adam and Emma met through online dating in November 2018 when Adam was in the Oshkosh/Appleton area hanging out with his cousin, Jason doing nerd stuff. Adam fell for Emma's profile when he saw her Kim Possible Halloween costume. Emma claims if she had known Adam was a cat dad she may not have swiped right (Adam claims he said this in his profile). None the less, the two started chatting and went on a first date within a week at a coffee shop near UW-Oshkosh where the two chatted for 3 hours (with Adam doing most of the talking). If Adam hadn't have been in the area using the app the two of them probably would have never met.

Emma and Adam became official on December 8, 2018 and spent most of their relationship living in separate cities and making trips to each other almost every weekend. When the two got to see each other they would go on hikes, hang out with friends, and visit each other's families. For both of them, spending time with family is very important and they loved having each other experience family traditions.

While dating, Adam and Emma supported each other through various milestones including graduating with their bachelor's degrees in 2020, Emma becoming a CPA in 2021, Adam graduating from his masters program in 2022 and Adam passing his AICP exams in 2023.

On July 14, 2022 Adam asked Emma to marry him during her family's annual cabin vacation on Big Lake Arbor Vitae, which Adam knew was Emma's favorite place.

Adam and Emma had spent the night prior at Adam's family's house and on the morning of the 14th Ruger, the family dog (who was VERY large), decided to climb into the bed with Emma and Adam. As Emma squealed at the surprise guest Adam thought "Yup, I definitely want to marry this girl." As the two drove to the cabin, Emma thought it was odd Adam wasn't his usual chatty self but assumed it was just from him being tired. Little did she know he was nervous about what he had planned.

Originally, Adam was going to propose during lunch when Emma's family, Aunt Jane and her family and Emma's Great Aunt and Uncle were present but Adam couldn't wait any more and proposed before they got there. As Adam walked out of the cabin with a large wooden box in his hand, Emma sassily said "What are you doing?" because she thought he found something in the cabin. Adam then got down on one knee and opened the wooden box, which was a musical engagement ring box, that played "their song" (Beyond the Sea, by Bobby Darin). The proposal caught Emma, and her sister-in-law Kelly (who was caught in the middle), by surprise. Emma of course said yes.

DISCLOSURE: Adam and Emma tend to disagree on the order of events and words said during the proposal. This story has been taken from Emma's point of view which... is always right :).