It all began at Coachella 2019, the desert music festival that takes place every year in Indio, CA. It was Emily's first time attending the music festival and she was excited to listen to some of her favorite artists and spend time with her friends. The first morning of the festival, Emily’s friend Hayley announced that her new work friend, Ashton, would be stopping by their campsite to say hi (which, she then followed up by saying, “I don’t really know him; can’t really vouch for him, he’ll probably stay for 10 min then we’ll never see him again.” - the ultimate endorsement!). Ashton approached the campsite that morning wearing gold ripped jorts, gold shiny high-top sneakers, an unbuttoned orange ombré shirt, and white heart-shaped sunglasses, and certainly made an impression. He ended up not only staying for 10 minutes but spent the next three days with Emily’s crew, fitting in comfortably like he had known them all for years. And while Emily didn’t quite realize it at the time, she did find that she was excited when he showed up at their campsite every morning and that she had truly never met anyone quite like Ashton. Even in those first few days, she could tell that he had a heart of gold and cared for those around him. What Ashton did realize immediately after meeting Emily, was that there was something different about her and the way she could crack jokes out of nowhere with a mischievous smile and make him feel instantly comfortably right. As Ashton lived in Santa Barbara and Emily lived in Los Angeles, they ultimately lost touch after Coachella after several missed connections in both SB/LA. This is, until, their best friends, Raid and Brian, schemed to set-up Ashton and Emily on a double date right before Christmas 2019. Ashton and Emily re-hit it off and started to spend more and more time together until March of 2020. As the world seemed to pause, Ashton and Emily found solace in the weekends spent in Santa Barbara with their “covid crew." The golden beach of SB became their sanctuary and their friends their only company. It was in those moments that they realized they were falling for each other more and more. Time had slowed down, but their worlds had expanded in so many ways. Their bond only grew stronger as the weeks passed. Long weekends became their lifeline—making the most of their time together whenever they could. Fast forward to July 2020, where Ashton officially asked Emily to be his girlfriend while at her favorite place in the world, her family's lake house in Iowa. As their story continued to unfold, they knew they had found something rare. And no matter where life would take them, the memories of Coachella and the beaches of Santa Barbara would always remind them of the beginning. We are so excited to welcome our favorite people in the world to our favorite place in the world for our wedding. We are so excited to share our love and joy with you all in October - countdown is on!