Emerson and I shared a very similar childhood. We both come from strong families rooted in faith, and both have only brothers for siblings. Both of us dedicated ourselves to a sport (Emerson gymnastics, Jeff tennis) and achieved performing it at a very high level. We also grew up only 15 minutes away from each other in Raleigh, with our high schools competing against each other regularly. Despite these similarities and proximity, our paths never crossed until we were freshmen at UNC. My grandfather has always told me that I would meet my future wife at the altar, and he proved to be exactly right. As I was walking to mass one Sunday morning, I heard my name being called out from behind. Turning around, I saw one of my friends from a Spanish class and standing next to her was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. I remember being immediately blown away and incredibly excited that she was also walking to mass. We sat next to each other, and I tried desperately to stop my hands from sweating before we gave each other the sign of peace. It took me a year of courting to finally work up the courage to ask Emerson out, but once we were officially dating life became a lot more fun. We dated throughout the rest of college and into our first years as adults, making long distance work from my job in Richmond to Emerson’s job in Raleigh. Our paths led us to both move to Austin where we have been now for the past few years. Living in the same city again has been fantastic, and it was the experience I needed to confirm that I was ready to marry Emerson. Over the Christmas break last year, we traveled back to Raleigh to be with our families. Little did Emerson know, I’d coordinated with her family and mine to pop the question on an afternoon date to chapel hill. I convinced her we were going to a UNC basketball game, but the game was canceled. Instead, we walked around campus reminiscing about our time there before we arrived at a special place on the quad where we used to hang out. At that tree, I got down on one knee catching Emerson completely by surprise. Both of our families then surprised her as well to celebrate the great occasion. We’ve been blessed to share the full support of both families as we prepare for the wedding and remain incredibly excited for the big day to finally arrive.