Ian and Emma are both in the U.S. Navy and they met during their first week of training at Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI. They quickly became friends and helped each other get through the program, even if they didn't know it yet at the time. When the program relaxed in the last couple of weeks, they went on their first couple of unofficial dates. After graduating and commissioning as Naval Officers, Ian went home to Virginia and Emma to Massachusetts. They stayed in touch via phone calls and texting, and Ian eventually invited Emma to attend a party his parents were hosting for his graduation in Virginia. Emma drove down for the event, and after a weekend of meeting everyone in Ian's [very large] family, he officially asked her out.

Emma spent 5 weeks with Ian in Virginia Beach while they attended follow-on training and their relationship quickly evolved from friendship to love. Emma was devastated to leave mid-summer to begin her first tour in San Diego, but they were committed to trying long-distance. She visited once a month for six months, until Ian got the exciting news that he too was being stationed in San Diego. While they both felt very fortunate for this turn of events, it came with the caveat that Ian had to deploy on a ship only 6 weeks after arriving in San Diego. So they celebrated Christmas together and made the most of their time before he left for 7 months.



After returning from his first deployment, they got the news that Ian would be redeploying in 5 months, but this time Emma would be going along, too. It was an difficult time, deploying during COVID-19 and having to set their relationship back to a friendship status, as romance was forbidden on the ship. But, they figured it was better to be together no matter what the circumstances, rather than apart for another 7 months.



Upon returning from the second deployment, Ian and Emma found a cute house in Imperial Beach, CA, and officially moved in together in 2021. He proposed in January of 2022 and in order to secure follow-on military orders together in Washington, D.C. they had to get married before leaving. So, on September 2nd, 2022 they had a small courthouse ceremony in San Diego that could not have been more perfect. Now that COVID-19 has mostly cleared up and they are on the same coast as most of their family, they want to have a big ceremony and reception to celebrate with everyone.



Where are they now?

Ian and Emma are living in Alexandria, VA with their four fur-children: 2 cats, Geo and Hydro, and 2 dogs, Etney and Anila. Ian is working as an Intelligence Officer down in Quantico, VA and Emma is working as a Meteorology and Oceanography Officer in Suitland, MD. While Ian is a computer nerd who likes video games and digital design, he also finds time to go on long runs and hopes to complete a marathon sometime in the next year. On the other hand, Emma likes to get her hands dirty baking and trying new recipes in the kitchen, but she is also working toward a few pre-requisite courses in preparation for applying to a Pharmacy Doctorate program next year. In their free time, they enjoy playing with and walking the dogs, going to the movies and having movie marathons, trying new restaurants and visiting museums in the city, and playing board games. Every now and then, the pair like to find fun 5K races to run together... mostly for the cool t-shirts.



Where have they been?

Ian and Emma love to travel! During their first year together they took weekend trips to Williamsburg, VA and New Orleans, LA. When Ian came back from deployment #1, COVID-19 was still in full swing, so they took advantage of the outdoor opportunities and hiked all over Southern California. After deployment #2, the Navy brought them to Oahu, HI, they visited family in Massachusetts, Virginia, and South Carolina, and they went to Disneyland, CA for Thanksgiving! In 2022, Ian and Emma took a week-long trip to Arizona to visit family-friends in Scottsdale, explore Phoenix and Sedona, and complete a Spartan 5K. In addition, during the trip across the country, they stopped to explore several places: Temecula, CA; Zion National Park, UT; Antelope Canyon, AZ; Grand Canyon, AZ; Oklahoma City, OK; Memphis, TN; and Gatlinburg, TN. On their latest adventure earlier this year, Ian and Emma flew to Colorado where they snowboarded in Avon/Vail and took some time to look around downtown Denver.