Emilee & Rocky

It's the classic, age old tale- city boy meets small town girl. It was fate. They fall in love. Except this city was no bigger than a 20 minute bike ride from one end to the other, and this small town was a tiny provincial island in the middle of the ocean. Dumaguete and Siquijor. The Philippines. Peace Corps. Bucket baths and mangoes. This is our story. Rocky, a volunteer doing gender equality work, had arrived in the Philippines in 2013. Emilee, a volunteer working with local mothers and youth, arrived just a year after Rocky. As luck would have it, they lived only islands apart- a single boat ride away from one another. Rocky had the closest McDonald's and A/C while Emilee had the stunning beaches and diving. For almost a year, back and forth we went, just bonding, laughing, sometimes crying, and soaking up the best adventure we ever knew. I suppose its true when they say the best things can be right under your nose, and you have no idea. And we had no idea. Until that one mango festival. Nothing like seeing somebody eat 8 mangoes in 15 minutes to really bring out the romance. But really, the truth is, that weekend we both realized that what we had- someone to call and say "I have this weird bump on my butt. what do you think it is?", a person who saw us at our complete worst and still thought we were great, someone who made the 'long boat ride' not seem so long, and someone who, when every luxury and comfort was removed, was still the person we would choose to sit in the blistering sun with staring at the sky - was something worth hanging onto. And hang on tightly. Well, folks, after that mango festival, the rest was history. Our lives were forever intertwined. "A once in a lifetime adventure" is what they called it; learning, living, and loving. And the Peace Corps brought us all of those things, and then some; A love greater than either one of us imagined. See? Told you. Just a classic story of boy meets girl.

Listen, no matter how much you think you've planned this sort of thing out, when the moment arrives, it's a whole other ballgame. She told me the ring she wanted 4 years ago when we were riding through the mountains of her home island in the Philippines. I engraved it in my memory, because I knew even then that I was going to marry this woman. Fast forward and the day was upon us. Emilee had begun studying in Ireland 4 months prior and she was on her way home for Christmas. I had it all planned out. What I would say. I stood in the arrivals area of the airport with the ring in my pocket. Clutching the box in my palm, as if, if I let it go for even a moment, it might fly away or vanish from the box like vapor. I must have opened and closed that box at least 70 times just to make sure it was still there. I was so excited, and by excited I mean I was sweating bullets. I had dreamed of this day for so long. And then I got a text message from her that said, "JUST LANDED!" It was go time. The first train of passengers arrived. I thought about the words I would say- But Emilee was not in this group of people. It's okay, I told myself, she must still be getting off the plane. The next train arrived- I reminded myself of the words I'd planned to say. Still no Emilee. After what seemed like countless trains later, she stepped off the train and instantly stood out in the crowd. Everything I planned to say went out the window the moment I saw her. She was so beautiful despite 20 hours of travel. I was holding a sign that had her name written on one side, and on the other it simply said, "Will you marry me" I dropped to one knee and said, "I don't ever want to go on another adventure without you. I can't go another day without asking you to be my wife. Please do me the honor of marrying me?" I slid the ring on her finger and it was better than I imagined. Meeting Emilee was the best thing that ever happened to me, and asking her to marry me was the smartest choice I ever made.

On August 9, 2020 we will start a new chapter of this adventure as husband and wife. And we are so excited for you to celebrate with us!