I first met Alec in 2018 at our church's Christmas production. I was working backstage and Alec was programming lights. Honestly, I do not remember much about Alec from this year other than he was close friends with some of my friends. Alec also bought my internship dinner in an attempt to flirt with me. I had no idea and do not remember this either. According to his story however, I was the only one to thank him for that dinner. So he got what he wanted. :) We worked at various church events together over the years. But it was not until July 2021 that our relationship really started. Alec came to visit the summer kids camp program I was working at. We went to lunch together with some friends a few times during the week. From those lunches I remember specifically his maturity, kindness and wisdom. He welcomed all into his circle and patiently listened to the great and the tough things going on in their lives. I admired him. At the end of the week, there was a moment in a group chat we were all in that Alec and I played a joke off of each other. We happened to be in the same room when that happened and we both looked up to see if the other person noticed. Our eyes locked, we laughed, and my heart skipped a beat. That was the spark. My friend saw this moment and immediately pulled me over. She asked, “Emma, would you ever date Alec?” I looked at her and said, “You know, I think I would! I hadn’t thought about that until this very moment.” A couple of weeks went by and Alec went back to traveling. He posted an Instagram Story about sushi in Washington D.C. and I responded asking how it was. He replied, “Emma, it was an emotional experience.” HE SAID MY NAME. I became so giddy. I thought to myself, HE LIKES ME!! We off and on messaged each other throughout the summer. There were moments where I was sure he liked me, and others where I thought he was just being a good friend. In early mid-August he asked me out to breakfast at Orphan Breakfast House. (A place I had mentioned loving early on in our talks). Our first date was September 6th as he was still on tour at the time. From this date on, we hung out whenever he was in town. It became apparent early on that he was an answer to my prayers. And it was in a small diner, Edelweiss 2, that I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this man. I never knew a love like this could exist. I thought it was stuff of books. But it is true, God really does love to give good gifts. Alec, I cannot wait to marry you! Forever and always. <3