And if you can't tell, we're very excited to share this occasion with you.

Our story according to Noah goes something like this:

"In the year 2021, I felt like I had a solid friend group for the first time. Two guys and two girls, who about once a month would go out to lunch after church. Every time we went to lunch, we insisted on sitting boy, girl, boy, girl. This is how Emma started always sitting on my right side. She was the person I was most unfamiliar with in our little group, but over time I learned more and more about her and eventually I felt drawn to her.

There were a few shared interests we had, mostly video games and a love for music. Some of the first few times that Emma invited me over to her house was so that we could record some original songs she had written. While those times were short, I realized that I was falling in love with this girl. By the time spring break of 2022 came around, I was obsessed with this girl. My friends rolled their eyes as I managed to work her name into every single conversation I had with them, but I didn't notice.

March 9th, 2022 rolled around, and I found myself sitting in the worship center of our church with Emma by my side. The youth group was dancing to country music, with a cowboy hat on every other head. I was scared out of my mind, but I had steeled my nerves and knew I wanted to ask Emma out. So I did. We set plans for that Saturday, but unfortunately Emma got sick, so we postponed until the next Monday. This started us trying to spend time together every Monday we possibly could, a tradition that we've kept to this day. What Emma didn't know until a year or so ago, I was so nervous the night before seeing her for our "first date" (it was Chick-fil-a on her couch watching a movie) that I got sick, but powered through the next day because I wasn't rescheduling again!

Our first few dates were awkward affairs, we sat way too far apart, conversation was kept to a minimum, and there was a single hug at the end of the night. But that one hug was the highlight of my day, any day I saw her. Our early relationship was awkward, and today I am so happy we moved past the awkward stages, but I believe we wouldn't be who we are today if we didn't go through those experiences.

A few other major things happened in Spring: we held hands, we went to our Junior Prom, finally we kissed, and said 'I love you.' That year was shaping up to be the best year of our lives. The summer of '22 came and went, we went to youth camp together for the first time and had the best camp experience either of us had ever had. Over the summer we had gotten to know each other quite a bit better and we knew that this wasn't 'just a phase.' From day one, we had agreed that marriage was our goal, and we were moving towards that goal a lot quicker than we realized. Getting married was fun to joke about at first, but then we attended a wedding in September, and the following June Emma was a part of her sister's wedding. Between those two weddings, something had clicked in our minds, and we knew that we wanted this more than anything. Both of us had a desire to respect marriage, and treat it as the God-given gift that it is, and what do you do when you can't wait to get married? Plan to get married next year.”

And from Emma's perspective:

“I remember distinctly the first time I spoke to Noah. 2021 We were at a Super Bowl party with our life group, and I did a little performance for the halftime show(our group always does instead of watching on TV). That was the first time he’d heard me sing, and so we talked about music all evening. I remember not wanting to leave because I was having such a good time. I had never really paid attention to him at church before but at that party, and from there on out, I saw him everywhere. At every church event I went to he would be there, and my eyes would always find him. But being awkward and anxious teenagers, we didn’t really speak much until that October.

I had become friends with a girl and she reintroduced me to Noah and his guy friend and that became our friend group. From that point Noah and I became better friends, and as we talked more, the more I was drawn to him. I searched for him in every crowd, just a smile or a wave made my day. I really had no idea how bad I was falling for him.

By the beginning of 2022 I knew, and I couldn’t contain it. I prayed ceaselessly for God to give me direction, this was the most scared I had felt in my whole life. I saw a future and didn’t want to mess this up. So, I gathered my courage and I planned to ask him out March 12th. But before I could he beat me to it, on the 9th at a western-themed youth event where I was wearing a neon green cowboy hat, he asked me out and we planned to have dinner on the 12th. I cannot describe the feelings I felt during this time in my life. I am an emotional person, and I am very in touch with my emotions, Noah made me feel emotions I had never felt before. So when it came to the 12th and I got sick, on top of actually being sick I was an emotional wreck. I was so upset that we had to reschedule, it felt like I was losing my chance. Of course it all worked out and it gave me a little more time to mentally prepare myself.

We had our date on Monday the 14th and I was so anxious I asked him if we could have it at my house because it would make me more comfortable. It was a very awkward evening, but I would not have had it any other way. After that (As Noah said in his story) Mondays became our thing. We continued to have cute little dates getting to know each other better and then on March 31st, I officially asked Noah to be my boyfriend.

Summer of 22’ was filled with so many sweet memories together, most of which were spent on one of our front porches. We would sit out on the porch for hours just enjoying the weather and talking about anything and everything that came to mind. I truly believe that is why we are so close and that in any relationship communication is key. As we talked our conversations continued be about the future. Where we saw this relationship going, and what we wanted out of life. It all pointed to marriage and a family. From the beginning we saw that possibility in one another, so we kept that in mind as our relationship grew. Each day that thought grew and grew until I couldn’t see a future without him. So, we talked about marriage more and we began to imagine and we began to dream.

So that brings us to our proposal.

Noah took me to the Dallas arboretum in which that was one of the most awkward and anxious car rides ever (because we both knew what was about to happen). We got there and we walked around looking at the flowers. Then he led me to a small courtyard with a fountain in the middle and before I could say anything, he knelt down on one knee and asked me to marry him.”

Now here we are, planning our wedding just as we had dreamed.

Thank you all for being apart of our story in some way or another, we are so excited to celebrate with you all!