Jonathan and Emily met in September 2012 during 3rd Hour IB World Lit 1 in their Junior Year of High School. They went on to have four out of six classes together that year. Jonathan asked Emily out on June 12th, 2013, with the help of their friend BJ. BJ let Jonathan use his cell phone to text Emily to find out if she was interested in him before he attempted to ask her out.

Their first date took place on June 13th, 2013, where they went to the NCG Cinemas to see “The Internship” and went downtown to walk around The Tridge. That summer, they went on dates to the lake, out to eat, and the Pacholka Pig Roast.

Senior Year of high school was a busy time for them with juggling dates, Jonathan’s basketball schedule, Emily’s volunteer schedule, and typical senior year experiences. Jonathan and Emily went to homecoming, sporting events, participated in Senior Salsation, Prom, and Graduation together. The first year of their relationship came to an end and to celebrate, they recreated their first date and watched “The Internship”.

The following fall saw Jonathan and Emily traveling to different colleges, Jonathan to Central Michigan University to pursue a degree in Finance/Accounting and Emily to Saginaw Valley State University to pursue a degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. Although they were attending different colleges, they made the most of their time together. Many trips were made to CMU and Midland over the next four years. They attended sporting events, hung out with the CMU Crew, and many date nights. Mostly, they spent their time in the Silent Study room to work on their homework together.

In 2018, Emily graduated from SVSU and started working as a Great Start Readiness Teacher in Midland, while Jonathan finished up his last semester. That summer, Jonathan had the opportunity to move to St. Louis, MO to intern for a company. This was the first time that Jonathan and Emily were apart for a significant amount of time, but they made time to see each other by meeting up about every 3-5 weeks for those three months. The fall brought on Jonathan’s last semester at CMU and a new opportunity.

In November 2018, Jonathan was offered a full-time position with the company in St. Louis that he interned with. This was an exciting opportunity, but also nerve wrecking. Jonathan and Emily decided to have Jonathan go ahead and move to St. Louis in February 2019 and Emily would follow in July after her school year ended. It was a difficult time to be so far apart, but they made it work with Facetime dates and planned trips.

In July 2019, Jonathan and Emily were officially residents of St. Louis, MO. The following years brought COVID quarantine, working from home, many trips to see family and friends, new jobs, and lots of dates.

October 23rd, 2022 will be a day that neither forget. For the past week, Emily noticed that Jonathan was acting a little suspicious and was dropping hints that he might be proposing that weekend. Emily was trying to not get her hopes up because Jonathan had mentioned that he wasn’t planning to propose until early 2023. During the week leading up to the proposal, Jonathan was scheming with Emily’s friend (Laura) to help surprise Emily by taking pictures of the proposal. Emily tried to throw a wrench into the plan when her car broke down and they only had one vehicle available the day that Jonathan needed to pick-up the ring. Jonathan had to fib on why he had to go into work at 3pm on a Friday afternoon when he exclusively works from home. Even with the wrench in the plan, the engagement went off without a hitch!

Jonathan and Emily want to thank everyone that have been a part of their love story. Without their family and friends, their love story wouldn’t be what it is. They cannot wait to celebrate their wedding with all of you!