We first met through our campus ministry, The Well, at ETSU. Both of us were pretty involved and had run into each other several times, as our love of service kept us crossing each other's paths. However, the real connection began when we were assigned as co-leaders for the Promo small group at the Well during our senior year. What started with an excited all-caps groupme message from Emma quickly developed into something more.
Over the fall of 2024, a deep friendship began to form as we served together. We always found ways to be close to each other, whether that was by holding local coffee shops hostage for hours on end while we prepped a bible study, huddling side by side in a golf cart to avoid the rain, or singing a very enthusiastic rendition of Shallow at a local karaoke night. However, amidst these fun activities, we were also able to see each other's true hearts as we poured out our struggles and hardships to one another. This pattern of friendship and closeness continued with 2 am snow walks and long talks in the car. As this deep relationship emerged, so did a looming problem: Co-leaders weren't allowed to date (cue dramatic music). Because of this small hiccup, any further romantic developments were put on hold for the spring semester, which ushered Alex into his angsty teen era. However, God had a plan and there was nothing we could do to stop it.
The spring of 2025 was filled with more bonding moments like dancing as helpers at Night to Shine, sitting next to each other on a van ride to and from Chicago, or speaking at the Well's fundraising banquet together. However, the spring also brought worries, insecurities, and hard conversations (Emma may or may not have told Alex "I don't have romantic feelings for you" at one point), as we tried to set boundaries to make sure we were staying faithful to the no-dating rule. However, despite the boundaries, the feelings remained. As the last days of co-leading drew to an end, we spent as much time together as we could, hoping (and dreading) for what would come after. On April 28th, the day after our last small group, we found ourselves sitting alone at a Sonic. Both of us were trying to find ways to bring up what the next steps for our situationship would be, but who would move first? Well, after a moment of silence, Alex awkwardly asked Emma, "What are you thinking about, or do you want to talk about anything?" Emma, who was planning on confessing her feelings to Alex, pointed back and forth between the two of us, saying "this". Before Emma could get a word in, Alex crossed the relational Rubicon and told Emma all the things he felt for her but hadn't been able to say, before asking her out on an official date on May 3rd, the next Saturday. Emma said yes (thank the Lord), and the ride back to Emma's dorm was filled with giggling and excitement. Alex dropped her off with the accustomed side hug before returning to his apartment, blasting "The Man" by Aloe Blac in triumph.
After months of waiting, the day had finally arrived, OUR FIRST DATE!!!!! Alex had spent the last few days anxiously watching the weather as he planned out the date itself. When the day arrived, Alex rushed around Johnson City gathering supplies, like Poppi's, an outfit sponsored by his brother Abram, and two bouquets, because he couldn't find any with just daisies. Meanwhile, Emma went shopping and picked out a white dress for the date (subtle foreshadowing). Eventually, the time came, and Alex, who had left early, realized one fatal flaw in his plan: he didn't know how to get into the dorm to pick Emma up. After frantically texting Emma's friends, Alex braved the last drops of rain from a passing storm to duck in the door behind someone else. Emma, who hadn't heard anything from Alex (since he was trying to get in to knock on her door and surprise her), decided to head down the elevator at the same time Alex was waiting for a ride up. The doors opened, and Alex, who was rushing to get into the elevator, almost ran over Emma in the process. It was like a movie. We made it to the car, and after many utterances of "This is crazy" decided to brave the inclement weather and head to putt-putt, which was the first step of Alex's initial plan. However, the putt-putt place was not as brave as us and had closed down for the weather. We then pivoted to a local pottery painting shop, where we alternated between painting our pottery (Emma had a sweet stained glass cross, and Alex had an awesome dragon), telling the other everything we had wanted to say for the past 6 months or so, and staring lovingly across the table. After this, we grabbed a to-go dinner at Barbs before heading up to the Beauty Spot. We sat on a blanket while Alex awkwardly ate his burrito (Emma had eaten her bowl in the car), then watched the sunset together. After making it down the mountain, neither of us wanted the date to end, so we grabbed some mint chocolate chip ice cream and headed to the top of the school parking garage. We ate some of the ice cream, but spent the rest of the time talking and then dancing in the soft rain to Sam Cooke. Finally, the time came for Alex to drop Emma off, but not before another hour sitting in the parking lot talking and laughing, as well as planning out the next date of many to come.
As the summer started, so did our official relationship. After a few more dates and a week apart while Emma went home to her family, Alex asked Emma to be his girlfriend via an Oli-pop with a sticky note on it that said: "Oli-pop the question: will you be my girlfriend?" (Alex had written this note a dozen times before he got it right). From there, our love grew and grew, as we enjoyed the freedom of summer and the excitement of each other! From fun dates to walks in the park and even a one-day beach trip, where we left at 4 in the morning, we kept falling more in love with each other. We were able to meet each other's families and got to know even more about who the other person was. We also faced some super difficult challenges, like having to spend 3 whole days apart without seeing each other while Alex worked at a church camp or isolating from each other while Emma fought a bad case of Hand, Foot, Mouth. Also, during this summer, we had the blessing of going on not one but two mission trips to Kenya and Honduras together.
At the end of a perfect summer, where we had spent almost every day together, fall 2025 finally came, and our long-distance adventure started. In August, Alex moved to Knoxville, TN, to start law school at UT, and Emma moved to Tyler, TX, to start a Christian leadership development program called the Forge. However, a measly 828 miles was not going to get in the way of the love story that God was writing. Throughout the fall, we continued to find new ways to fall in love and grow even closer. This included FaceTime dates, daily calls on the way to class, thumbprint kisses on a long-distance couple app, and even a surprise visit from Emma for Alex's birthday. However, our love was also in the tears and hardships of the fall, as we held fast to each other during the hard times. Over this fall, Alex (with the help of not-so-subtle hints from Emma) also began to set a plan into motion that would take our love to the next step: engagement!
ENGAGEMENT TIME!!!! After a period of preparation for Alex (including buying the ring, talking to Emma's dad, practicing his proposal stance, and planning the proposal/engagement party) and a period of eager waiting for Emma, the day finally arrived! On December 13, 2025, Alex and Emma met up in Knoxville and headed back to the Tri-Cities to start our winter breaks and visit some friends' graduation! On the way there, Alex had orchestrated for his mom to call us on the drive and ask if we wanted to go see the snow on Roan Mountain that afternoon, as an excuse to get Emma to the summit. Alex thought the plan was going without a hitch, but little did he know that Emma had already seen that Alex was sharing his location with our mutual friend and photographer, Maggie Smith. As the morning and graduation went by, Alex was full of nervous energy, which was only increased by the fact that all of our friends at the graduation who knew about the plan kept giving him thumbs up whenever Emma wasn't looking. However, after the graduation and a long lunch wth friends to stall, the lovebirds headed up towards the mountain. Emma spent part of the drive fixing her makeup and crying to emotional love songs, which definitely should have indicated to Alex that she was on to him. When we reached the trailhead, Alex acted like his family must have gone ahead up the mountain already, so we started the trek. One of the main parts of Alex's fake excuse to go up the mountain was that his 2-month-old nephew would be up there with the rest of the family. Now this seems like a good story to make up, considering both Alex and Emma's love for their nieces and nephews. However, this story caused Emma to be more suspicious, as the temperature was below freezing with a nasty windchill, which is no weather for a baby to be out and about. The other problem we ran into on the hike up the mountain was that Emma had only brought some old New Balance sneakers, which had lost their tread, and the trail was covered in ice. What this meant was that Emma could barely stand on her own without sliding back down the mountain. However, Alex, determined to get up the mountain, carried/dragged her up with him. After finally reaching the summit, Alex led Emma past a grove of trees (where Maggie the photographer and Alex's sister Addi were hiding to capture the moment) and out onto a rock overlook. Then Alex turned to Emma and pointed at the mountain view, saying, "This is home, and I want you to be my home forever, so will you marry me, Emma Faith Phelps?" One enthusiastic "YES!!!!" later, paired with jumps of excitement, we were engaged, excited to be married, and still very cold. After taking pictures in the snow, we headed back down the mountain, brimming with excitement and joy! When we got back to Alex's parents' house, there was one last surprise left. Alex, with the help of many of Emma's friends and family, had arranged an engagement party with all of our family and friends! There, we were able to rejoice in the love that the Lord had given us and celebrate with the people we love! Now we are looking forward to our wedding, and living every day in love from now until forever!