We're getting married!

Jackson returned home to Virginia from California in the spring of 2020, just as the world was slowing down. Just a few weeks later, fate stepped in—thanks to Dom, one of Jackson’s high school friends, and Claire, Emily’s best friend and now maid of honor. They introduced the two virtually, and soon after, Jackson and Emily went on their first date: a double date with Dom and Claire to Peterson’s Ice Cream Depot in Clifton, Virginia. What started as a sweet day out turned into a long-distance love story, with Jackson at Virginia Tech and Emily at the University of Mary Washington for the next two plus years. They made the miles between them feel small, traveling back and forth—sometimes multiple times a month—to spend weekends together, even during Emily’s basketball season. Over the years, they explored new places together, taking trips around the country and even celebrating their college graduations with a memorable trip to the Bahamas. After graduation, they both returned home to Northern Virginia, where they began building their lives and careers side by side. On February 1st, 2025, Jackson proposed in Clifton—the same town where they shared their first date, first kiss and many ice cream runs in between. A month or so later, they added another member to their little family: Berkeley, their Belgian Malinois mix, who joined them that March.