Michael and Julia met in the summer of 2014 after Julia returned from a summer study abroad program in Sicily. One of Michael's fraternity brothers on the study abroad trip introduced them at none other than the infamous Sky Bar Auburn. They developed a friendship following their introduction due to sharing many mutual friends and living in the small college town of Auburn, Alabama. Their romance blossomed at the end of Summer 2017. Julia was looking to move out of Auburn and Michael offered her the option to rent one of the available bedrooms in his house in Charleston, SC. After about a month of being roommates and spending lots of time together, Michael expressed his feelings to Julia and the rest is history.

Julia and Michael had many discussions about getting engaged in 2019, and Julia was itching for it to happen. She said many times she did not think Michael would be able to surprise her since they lived together and spent most of their time off work together. Over Labor Day weekend (also their anniversary), they were getting ready to travel to Dallas for the Auburn football kickoff against Oregon. Julia had to head to the doctor unexpectedly after work on Thursday, getting home from work later than usual. She was so exhausted by the time she arrived home that she didn't notice anything different about her surroundings. Michael told Julia he had a gift for her in the kitchen (she didn't think much of this since he had done this before). On the kitchen table was the Martha Stewart Weddings book, a book Julia told Michael she wanted whenever they got engaged and began to plan their wedding. Julia thought Michael bought her the book just to annoy her. When she turned around from the table to ask why he got her the book, Michael was on his knee and asked her to marry him. It was the perfect timing, as they were able to celebrate their engagement (and an Auburn football win) with many friends from college in Dallas.

Julia and Michael were married at St. James' Episcopal Church in Potomac, MD on 9/25/2020, their original wedding date. They both knew they wanted to get married on the date they had planned, so they went ahead and planned a small version of their larger wedding, with just parents and siblings present. The wedding was held outside in the memorial garden, near where Julia's Dad and Grandpa were buried. The happy couple and their families headed to Ristorante Tosca in DC for a wonderful reception in the private dining room, followed with wedding cake made by The Cake Room DC.