We first met at Central Michigan University where we attended college from 2015-2019. Though we saw each other at social outings, it wasn’t until the end of our sophomore year and into our junior year that we became best friends. Living across the street from each other in the Sigma Chi and Zeta houses, we saw each other close to everyday! We’d wave to each other through the windows of our houses, run to hug each other first when we would get together with our group of friends and look forward to seeing each other at the next event. Our feelings for each other developed so naturally and seamlessly, and grew from the root of our friendship with one another. Both of us are still unsure how or when we officially started dating, but we fell fast and hard - our friends would even joke about us being in our “honeymoon phase”

Fast forward to after college, we moved back home to live with our families and pursue our first jobs post-grad in separate states, Jason in Michigan and Emma in Illinois. There was no hesitation that we wanted to stay together despite the distance. We spent weekends visiting each other back and forth from Michigan to Illinois, and Illinois to Michigan, still getting to share the most important pieces of our lives with each other, spending holidays and vacations with friends and family together. The time apart felt never ending, but we both knew this period of time would eventually end and all be worth it. In early 2022, Jason landed a job opportunity in Chicago, and would soon move to the city, saying goodbye to those long days and weeks we once spent physically apart!

We got engaged on September 9, 2022 and have since been soaking up all of the overwhelming joy and anticipation of this next chapter of our lives - taking in every second of where we are, how far we’ve come and what’s yet to come! There are countless people in our life who fill our hearts, who have stuck with us and supported us throughout significant milestones, life events, adversity and accomplishments that we have endured over the years, from the beginning of our story. We are so grateful for you and the part you play in our life, and we cannot wait to spend our wedding day with you all on April 19, 2024!