RJ and Emily met back in September of 2002 - shortly after we both started third grade at Hunters Woods Elementary. While we never had the same teacher for our four years at HWES, our classes interacted enough that we got to know each other. We both then moved on to Rachel Carson Middle together, again in different pods and classes, but often in the same circles. It wasn't until freshman year at Oakton High School that we started to become friends :) Speed through four years of high school to May 4, 2012 when RJ asked Emily to prom (via the famous Georgetown Cupcakes). We quickly became wrapped up in prom planning and graduation, only to then realize we wanted to keep dating even as we went on to our separate, far away colleges in Chicago and Philadelphia. We got through four years of flying between cities on weekends, seeing each other on holidays, and many, many phonecalls. Sprinkled in there was also a semester of Emily studying in Singapore, putting us at a 12 hour time difference, and a semester of both of us studying in Madrid, putting us right next to each other for four whole months. Those four years of long distance were hard to be apart, but we were able to make each other a priority and enjoy the time that we could. Finally in May 2016, Emily graduated from Villanova and then in June 2016 RJ graduated from Northwestern! We both moved back to our homes in Northern Virginia to start our careers and actually live in the same city full time. After about a year of living with parents, we moved in together to our apartment in Arlington in August 2017 and about six months later we adopted our sweet pup Leo. Then one more step was a big one - on August 15, 2019, after 7+ years and countless experiences together, RJ proposed! We can't wait to get married (delayed as it may be), and are so excited to spend the rest of our lives together!