Channing and Emily initially met at Pizza Port in Carlsbad while getting ready for their first San Diego Marine Corps Ball. Emily was there as her sister Ally’s date, but Ally had to leave early for sword detail, leaving Emily to spend the majority of the day with three strangers, one of them being Channing. Somehow, Channing’s dancing was enough to convince Emily to go on a first date in Arizona, where Emily quickly proved that pool was definitely not one of her strengths. The next few years were filled with long distance while Emily finished graduate school and Channing completed his first deployment. Between flights, long drives, FaceTimes, and weekend trips, they made it work and eventually ended up together in sunny San Diego.