Dave and Emma met at a friend's brunch party in Butte, Montana (aka Butte America). They hit it off right away, as their friend predicted they would. They talked about Star Wars and a mutual love of the outdoors. They planned to go on a short hike after brunch but Dave wasn't feeling well so they just walked around downtown Butte instead with Dave's dog Shaolin. Emma stopped by her apartment to get some medicine to help Dave's sniffles and Dave met Hemingway, Emma's bearded dragon. I believe it was love at first sight. Over the next few weeks, they talked a lot and spent as much time as they could together despite living over an hour apart. On (or around) March 24th, they decided to date exclusively and became a couple.

In May of 2019 they attended Emma's brother Clark's wedding in Tennessee together (Thanks Clark and Janelle for letting me add in a last minute plus-one!) and Dave met Emma's whole family - all at once! (Brave man) After the wedding, Emma met Dave's parents for the first time when they drove down from Connecticut to explore Johnson City, Tennessee and check out East Tennessee State University (ETSU) where Dave would be starting his Master's program in August! At the end of August, they loaded up all of their things, packed up Shaolin and Hemingway and moved from Montana to Tennessee.

After arriving in Johnson City, Dave settled into life being a student again at ETSU, and Emma got to know her Starbucks coworkers better. They had great recommendations for local hikes and we hiked several different trails together. One of those trails stood out and it became their Sunday morning go-to hike. You can see it featured in the engagement photos! Dave and Emma spent the pandemic with Dave teaching Emma how to play Magic the Gathering, playing lots of cribbage together, discussing whether to get a second dog, and growing closer together. In the Fall of 2021, they adopted Jango an 11 month old Shepherd mix who really helped prove what a chill dog Shaolin is! Despite her challenges, she still fit right in to the little family. On July 13, 2022, Emma and Dave closed on their house and began to move in! A big thank you to the friends who came over during the next few weeks to help paint and get it move-in ready! Considering the size of the backyard, they realized it was much too big for just two dogs and started talking about the possibility of getting a third dog, probably 4 or 5 years old, a good midpoint in between Shaolin and Jango's ages. Fate had different ideas and in June 2023, Dave discovered two 3 month old puppy sisters wandering the mean streets of Elizabethton where he worked at the time. He brought them home, gave them flea baths and despite the idea that they'd only be with us until we could find someone to adopt them, they quickly wiggled their way into our hearts. Once we named them Merry and Pippin, it was all over and we knew they had to stay. What are big backyards for if not four dogs right? Throughout the years Emma and Dave have enjoyed finding home in Tennessee and getting to know their community and all that Johnson City has to offer. Dave has played music at multiple open mic nights and other live-music venues, from Willow Tree (RIP) to Hideaway to Watauga Brewing. Emma has enjoyed participating in various art festivals, playing D&D, finding a book club and going on many adventures with friends. Johnson City has become home to both of them.

On August 30, Dave popped the question during open mic night at Watauga Brewing Co, surrounded by love from friends and family who were all in on the surprise, and had come to celebrate with the couple! The date he chose is significant, as Dave proposed with his grandmother's ring, echoing the engraving on the inside of the band: 8-30-52. What an honor to be a part of this legacy of love, of course Emma said yes.

First comes love, then comes marriage... We can't wait for the day to arrive and we thank you for witnessing and celebrating our wedding day with us, and for continuing to celebrate all of our important life events. We love you so much!