We're getting married!

Colin and Emily were both born and raised in the Chicagoland area. Colin from the northside (McHenry) and Emily from the southside (Tinley Park). They also both grew up dancing and fell in love with ballet. You would think their paths must have crossed at some point and they did, but they never actually met. There were some close encounters such as Colin attending Ballet Chicago's Summer Intensive. Emily danced in the studio company for several years, but went away for the summers to train elsewhere around the country. Emily even attended an Indiana University summer intensive, where Colin attended college and was an RA for a summer or two. So, they knew of each other but did not formally meet until 2018 when both dancing with the Saint Louis Ballet. Emily noticed Colin and was the first to be smitten during their time spent performing in the Nutcracker together. She would purposely act as "Santa's Elf" and deliver gifts to Colin from his secret Santa. Emily was really trying to get his attention and so decided to scare Colin before giving him his gifts. It started a war between the two as Colin wanted payback and so he started attempting to scare her back. She definitely got his attention. Colin finally caught the love bug by that January and decided to ask Emily out after a ballet class. Since that first date in early February their love grew quickly and they knew it was something special. They have had so many amazing memories together; from glass blowing, to feeding tortoises at the zoo, to canoeing on Creve Coeur Lake. Each date they grew closer and their love stronger and stronger. After 5 years of dating they still feel like they are in the honeymoon phase. "It helps when you are dating your best friend." They decided to take the relationship to the next level and got engaged in August 2023. They are having a blast planning their wedding together and cannot wait to celebrate their love with all of their friends and family!