Both Jonathan and Emily attended Grace Central Coast (GCC) church in San Luis Obispo (SLO). Jonathan had been attending since their freshmen year of college and Emily joined the college church group at the start of senior year. Jonathan led the worship team and Emily helped co-lead a small group. While both were very involved in the college group, with the college group being between 150-200 students, very few times, if ever, did their paths cross.

Jonathan and Emily knew of each other due to their involvement and time spent at church, but it wasn't until May, just a month before graduation, that they had their first conversation with each other. No sparks flew then, but that was just the beginning.

Jonathan and Emily were both friends with Courtney Theis and Darren and Lauren Nelson (it's relevant we promise). Courtney was (and still is) Emily's best friend. Courtney and Emily spent almost every single day of the spring quarter with one another and if you found one of them, you would most likely find the other. Darren is the college pastor at GCC and Lauren is his wife. Darren mentored Jonathan all of his senior year and Darren and Lauren opened their home and lives to Emily in ways she will forever be thankful for.

Fast-forward to the end of May 2022, just a few weeks before graduation. Darren and Lauren invited Emily, Jonathan, and Courtney over for dinner and game night since they were close with all three. They say they weren't intentionally doing it to set them up, but clearly, the Lord had other plans. The first time they all hung out, Emily, Courtney, and Jonathan ended up staying at the Nelson's until nearly midnight. And shockingly, even though the Nelsons probably didn't get as much sleep because of it, they invited the three of them over again the following weekend! This hangout ended up happening four or five more times before Jonathan moved out of SLO in July. These hangouts were where Emily and Jonathan got to know each other well.

Even if they wanted the hangouts to continue, Jonathan was, unfortunately, moving out of SLO down to Temecula to start his full-time mechanical engineering job in July, just two months after they first got to know each other. Without knowing it, both were thinking about the possibility of dating, but with Jonathan moving and Emily staying in SLO, they both assumed it would be the last time they saw each other.

Just a little over a month later, Jonathan decided to take a leap of faith and text Emily. Jonathan had joined the city pickleball league in Temecula and saw it as a way to relate to Emily enough to start a conversation again. Over the next few months, Emily and Jonathan exchanged many texts and a few phone calls. Jonathan and Emily would both say they were starting to catch feelings but didn't know how the other was feeling or if it would go anywhere. They both thought nothing more would happen…but God had other plans!

At the beginning of November 2022, Emily made plans to visit an old friend (Monique) down in Escondido. Over that weekend, Emily also planned to visit Monique's church with her. Unbeknownst to Emily, Monique and her family went to a church 45 minutes away in Temecula. And through God's providence, it ended up being the same church Jonathan attended. So a weekend that started as Emily just catching up with an old friend, turned into hanging out at a church function Saturday night with Jonathan and seeing him again on Sunday morning at church. After the weekend festivities and Sunday worship service, Jonathan asked Emily on a date!

Before the ask, Emily had invited Jonathan to her pickleball tournament in Newport Beach. So that following Saturday, Jonathan came and watched Emily play (and met her whole family while he was there...oops). After the tournament, they went on their first date: dinner and a walk around Balboa Island. A few days later, the relationship became official!

How He Asked: Jonathan and Emily went down to San Diego after Christmas 2023 to spend time with the Cederquist Family. Jonathan planned a lunch date in Del Mar for the two of them. Friday, December 29th, they went to a nice seafood restaurant and finished the date with a walk on the beach. During the walk, Jonathan asked Emily to marry him and she, of course, said yes!

We can't wait until May 24th, 2024!