SHORT VERSION - June 2023 - Long distance “introduced” - Aug 2023 - First in person meet-up and date - Sept-Dec 2023 - Nate left the country for 4 months. No contact. - Jan 2024 - Nate returned and they began dating - 9 months of long distanced dating (Dallas-Nashville) - Oct 2024 - Engaged, married, & then eloped & honeymooned in Italy - Nov 2024 - Moved Emily to Dallas, TX with Nate, & then found out we were pregnant (from the honeymoon)! LONG VERSION: We got connected in the summer of 2023, from a mutual friend (Amy Smith). Emily was living in Nashville, and Nate was in Dallas. We had some text and phone call conversations, and met in person Aug 2023 (when Nate was passing through Nashville on his way to attend a wedding in Decatur, AL). We spent a long evening at a restaurant, talking through all the normal things, but then really connected on some deeper life, faith, and “conspiracy” related topics. Emily heard that Nate was fairly adventurous, so she proposed a skydiving expedition for the following day. Nate liked that she was brave enough for something like that, but was unsure he wanted that kind of a core memory with someone he didn’t yet know if he wanted to date long-term. We compromised with an attempt to go cliff-jumping at a nearby lake. That turned into a mile hike through the woods / thicket, with a few “no trespassing signs”, and by the time we found the the lake, it was completely dark outside. We tried to walk down the shoreline to the cliffs, but a large chain linked fence was built out into the water. Emily suggested we swim out, then swim parallel to the shore, until we found the cliffs. This is where Nate became impressed with Emily’s courageous nature, & liked the chance to see her without makeup (LOL). So they swam. Nate struggled, while Emily glided. They wisely decided to not cliff jump, and then found their way out of the woods. That date ended with getting pancakes (for takeout) at IHOP, and country 2 stepping in the foyer (while waiting on the food). A few weeks later, Nate left the country to compete in an athletic reality tv show, which lasted 4 months, and he didn’t have access to a phone or computer. They weren’t able to communicate. When Nate got back in the country January of 2024, they resumed talking. We started dating, became “official” about a month later, and spent a total of 9 months doing long distance, with a 1x/month meet up. We decided we wanted to get married, felt that sooner was better than later, and agreed that we preferred a fall elopement, instead of waiting and planning for a more traditional spring wedding. We set our elopement date in our dream location of Positano Italy, and then Nate worked in a proposal weekend in Colorado, October 5th. We got engaged, and then the next w/e, had a small wedding ceremony at Emily’s parents home in Nashville, TN. Nate’s father (who is a Pastor) conducted the ceremony. Only our parents were in attendance. October 13th. A few days later, we flew to Italy and had our own private vow ceremony in Positano! We honeymooned in Italy another 10 days, AND LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT! The scenery and food were top notch. ALSO - Both of us had been abstaining from sex for 8 & 12 years, so we were excited to get on to that part of the honeymoon :D We flew back to Nashville, packed up Emily’s apartment, and headed down to Dallas to settle into a home we rented. Nov 4. A few weeks into November, we found out we were pregnant. A month later, we found out we’re having TWINS. Emily had a ROUGH 1st trimester, which threw a wrench in our original reception planning, timeline, invitations, etc. We hope you accept our apology for not giving more of a heads up, and hopefully you can understand and sympathize with us. With that said, please come celebrate with us! We love each of you, & will have a low stress time where we can catch up with EVERYONE! P.S. - We’ll do our babies gender reveal with y’all!

After we got engaged in Colorado on October 5, 2024, Nate had one more surprise for the weekend. 1 year before, as we discussed our first date and meetup, Emily had mentioned that she’d be down to go skydiving. Nate declined that time, but kept the idea in his back pocket. After Emily said yes to engagement, Nate said “then let’s take a symbolic leap of faith, and go skydiving!” That was on the way to the skydiving spot, and Emily was all for it! We had a scary and fun jump, with the Rocky Mountains off in the distance.