We're getting MARRIED!

Alex and Emily met all the way back in 2013, their junior and freshman years of high school, respectively. As Alex will tell it, him and a friend walked up to Emily and asked if she was, in fact, Emily Erato. Once she said yes and turned around, she "sauntered" away and he was hooked. From that day on Emily and Alex became close friends, hanging out after football and basketball games, tutoring her brother, Eric, in math, or just one on one. After high school, Alex went to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and still kept his close friendship with Emily. He would come home to visit her, and she would go up and see him in Oshkosh. He even drove Emily down to her college cheerleading tryout in Louisville with her brother JP and their friend Anna. While Emily was attending Bellarmine University, Alex came down again with JP to visit her. While they weren't as close as before, their friendship still remained. In 2022, Emily and her mom were talking about school and doing homework, and jokingly, Renee said "If I texted Alex, do you think he would help me with my homework like old times?" Emily laughed and said she hadn't spoken to him in a while, but she was sure he would help if she asked! Two weeks after this interaction, Emily built up the courage to text Alex and see what he's been up to. After one day of talking and catching up, Emily asked Alex if he would be interested in meeting up for a drink to catch up the next time she was back in Wisconsin. He (thankfully) said yes, and the first date was set! (Although, at the time, they didn't know it was a date). About one month after the date was set, in October, the day had come. Emily was back in town and staying at her dad and Amanda's house. Before the date, Vic and Amanda were asking Emily "so, what time is Alex picking you up for your date?" Emily responded, adamantly, that it was in fact not a date, just two friends catching up. When Alex arrived to pick Emily up, he came to the door, said hi to her family, and when it was time to leave, he opened up her car door (because he knew Vic was watching). It wasn't until halfway through their SEVEN HOUR date, when they finally realized it was a date, thanks to Alex making the first move and putting his hand on her leg in the middle of their conversation. Once their date was over, he drove her home, and they were talking about seeing where their relationship could go, and they would see each other at Thanksgiving. The joke was on them. They talked all day every day. Texting, on the phone, FaceTime, you name it; they were always talking. Two weeks before Thanksgiving 2022, Alex drove down to Louisville to spend the weekend with Emily where he asked her to be his girlfriend. After 8 months of doing long-distance, Alex in Oshkosh, and Emily in Louisville, Alex made the move to Louisville, where they are currently living. In December 2023, Emily accomplished a huge milestone, completing her MBA. Her whole family and Alex's parents came down to celebrate this accomplishment. Little did she know, she would get more than just another degree that weekend. The day before graduation, Alex drove Emily to Bellarmine to reminisce on her times there and give him the full walking tour (which he was unaware that he was actually going to go on a hike). After 90 minutes, going into every building they could, and walking every hill, they reached the stairs where they began the tour and Alex stops and says, "So, you've made a lot of great memories here, huh?" Emily responded, "oh yes, easily some of the best memories of my life." Alex got down on one knee (Emily's back was turned so she couldn't see), and said, "Well, should we make one more?" Through all the happy tears and smiles, Emily, of course, said yes, and the rest is history.