Even though Josh and Emma attended Penn State at the same time, they didn't end up meeting each other until after they both had graduated. Josh was working at a construction firm that was responsible for renovating Old Main and Emma had been hired in Penn State's lobbying office. Throughout the entire summer that Josh was working in Old Main, Emma was only able to work up the courage to talk to him on a few occasions. As October rolled around, the construction firm finished their work and Josh no longer needed to be in Old Main. Fast forward 4 months to the REAL night Josh and Emma met: February 1st, 2014. Emma and her best friend made an impromptu decision to go to the local bar "The Second". Emma and Catherine were enjoying dinner and drinks, when Josh walked through the door with his friend. Immediately, Emma recognized him as the engineer from Old Main and pointed him out to Catherine. Josh and Emma spent the whole night only a table away. Allegedly, Emma was "staring" at Josh the whole night, but Josh was sitting under a tv and a really good game of college basketball was on. When Emma had to leave, she decided that she was going to walk past him AND smile at him as she left. As Emma walked past Josh, he stopped her and asked, "Do I know you from somewhere?". In her normal, awkward fashion, Emma half-shouted, "OLD MAIN!" After that, they talked for 15 minutes, got each other's numbers (Thanks, Catherine!), and the rest is history!

Prior to meeting one another, Josh and Emma both enjoyed traveling. As their relationship grew, so did they're desire to travel to new and exciting places. This love for traveling motivated them to plan their first big trip together: a 17 day adventure through Europe. Leading up to the trip, many people would tell Emma that "Josh was DEFINITELY going to propose" while abroad. Trying to manage her own expectations Emma would always dismiss these remarks (while secretly hoping they were true). Unbeknownst to her, Josh had been planning to propose while in Italy since the day they began planning the trip. He did everything right: he asked her parents for their blessing, he chose the most perfect ring, and he planned to propose in Emma's favorite spot in Italy. The only problem was that they weren't traveling to Emma's favorite spot until 10 days into the trip. So, that was 10 days of worrying about the proposal for Josh and 10 days of wondering if it was going to happen for Emma. Once they traveled through Rome, the city that was home for Emma during her study abroad program, she figured a proposal wasn't going to happen on this trip. So, it came as a wonderful surprise when Josh dropped to a knee 3 days later in Riomaggiore, Italy. The day was absolutely beautiful: it was the only day on their trip that was sunny and over 50 degrees and they spent the entire day hiking around Cinque Terre. It was a perfect day they both will remember for the rest of their lives.