My freshman year of college, I was interested in playing frisbee but wasn't sure how to get started. A friend played for the men's ultimate team and invited me to a frisbee party so I could meet some of his teammates. He was weirdly adamant about me talking to the coach, and I wasn't sure why until we got there. Jericho had just gotten back from work, and was changing clothes when my friend opened Jericho's bedroom door and waltzed in. I let him finish getting dressed and then we spent all night talking. We made plans to meet up the next day to throw the frisbee on front campus. Throwing turned into five hours of talking and oddly enough, the day ended with me cutting his hair! I guess I did a good job, because he kept asking me to cut it.

Our story began in January of 2014 when we were living in a small town of Georgia called Milledgeville. We had both moved there the previous summer, Emily for college, and me to coach Ultimate Frisbee. We were set up on a surprise blind date of sorts one evening during a frisbee social at my house. I remember at one point we were sitting on the floor against a wall and I didn't have a care in the world about anything other than talking to her. I've never really believed in the idea of "love at first sight", but I imagine the feeling I had then was what everybody who believes in that stuff is referring to. We decided to get together the next day on front campus to throw for a bit. We ended up sitting on one of the benches talking for almost five hours before we ended the date by her cutting my hair. We finally went on our first "real" date a few weeks later, and the rest is history.

We had been planning a hike at our favorite hiking spot with our friends for a few weeks. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and of course, I woke up sick. I tried making every excuse in the book to not go, but Jericho struck a deal with me - if he went and picked up Waffle House to go, I'd go on the hike with him. After eating, I threw a jacket on over my PJ's and topped off my "look" with a baseball hat. I clearly expected nothing. About a mile into the hike, the boys wanted to stop and take a few pictures. Next thing I knew, Jericho was on one knee, and we were engaged!

After the initial heartbreak of having to reschedule our wedding, we decided that waiting until 2021 to get married just wouldn't do. On July 24th of last year, we decided to go to the courthouse to get legally married. Except the courthouse was closed due to the pandemic, so we went to the only magistrate in town - at the local detention center. The Magistrate married us in 40 seconds flat while we stood in the rain. Was it what either of us imagined? No. Was it perfect representation of our relationship? Not exactly. But it was perfectly imperfect. Much like everything else from 2020, we want a 2021 redo where we can share this experience and say our vows in front of everyone who played a role in getting us here - from the people who raised us and made us who we are today, to the people who watched our relationship unfold first hand on the frisbee field, and everyone in between. For those of you who are able to join us in 2021 with a renewed appreciation for in-person celebrations, we can't wait to see you.