... so our first date in October 2017 was a quick meet up over ice cream to make sure that the other person wasn't a murderer. Luckily we both passed the initial test and had our real first date at Epcot for the Food & Wine Festival where Emily introduced Vincent to all of her favorite cheese based dishes, and he tried to impress her in the France Pavilion by showing off his bi-lingual abilities. The night finished off with a bang as we watched the Illuminations fireworks (RIP) from the Canada Pavilion. After discovering a mutual love of hockey, Emily invited Vincent to join some friends to celebrate her birthday at the Red Wings vs. Lightning game in Tampa. While the Wings got destroyed, all the crew approved of Vincent, and the rest was history.

At the start of our relationship, Vincent was only supposed to be in Orlando for 2-3 months and we planned to enjoy each other's company and then say goodbye. But then he stayed another few months, and with the help of some Disney and other magic, the relationship continued to grow. In April 2018, the sad day came that Vincent had to leave Florida. We both realized that we weren't ready for the relationship to end. Thus, our long distance relationship began! There were many flights for quick visits, including the most expensive movie date ever, when Emily flew to Chicago to see the new Fantastic Beasts movie premier with her favorite Harry Potter fan. Eventually Vincent made it back to Florida for a few months, and life was good. So good in fact, that when Vincent matched into a residency program in Rhode Island, Emily made the decision to leave Disney and follow him there.

In May 2020, Vincent and Emily planned to go on a Caribbean cruise which made a stop in Port Canaveral, Florida, and the two planned to spend that day back at Disney. Vincent planned to pop the question where it all began, but unfortunately COVID cancelled the cruise and ruined that plan. Instead, they spent the week staying with Emily's parents in Erie, Pennsylvania, where they traded poolside drinks for fireside drinks, golfed instead of snorkeling, and just enjoyed being away from work. One day Emily's mom was adamant that the family go collect driftwood at Presque Isle. While not an usual request, this time it turns out it was just a story to get everyone to the beautiful beaches on Lake Erie. When we got there, Vincent got down on one knee and asked Emily to spend the rest of their lives together. Of course she said YES!!! While the original plan didn't work out, we were lucky to have Emily's parents be a part of that special moment, and to celebrate with her whole family the next day when her brother Jeff and his girlfriend Ashley flew into town to surprise us!