Our love story starts in our small hometown of Massena, New York on none other than the St. Lawrence River. We always joke that our relationship started with me (Emma) wanting to change the song. So, I jumped up onto Nate's boat, asked for the aux cord, and I've been changing the song on him ever since. But honestly, I don't think he minds. It didn't take us long to realize that our relationship was special. We loved adventuring with eachother, being lazy with eachother, and simply just loved eachother - that much was clear. When we’re together, things like going to the grocery store, doing yard work or giving the dogs a bath don't seem so tedious. We have found that it really is just that simple - life is so much fun when you get to spend it with someone you love.

On a sunny October morning, Nate asked me if I wanted to bring the dogs swimming at our favorite spot, the St. Lawrence Yacht Club. Capitalizing on any chance I get to spoil our dogs, I said of course. This was a totally normal thing for us to do so I didn't think anything of it, even when Nate was hovering over me, asking me what I planned to wear (making sure I didn't wear my BRIGHT blue patterned pullover that was a norm for me on colder days). I guess he was secretly happy when I opted for the more neutral, gray one. When we got to the Yacht Club, about a half hour went by of playing fetch when I decided I wanted to take a picture of all the fall colors - it was truly a beautiful day. While doing this, I heard "Emma" and turned around wondering what was so important that Nate had to interrupt my photo op. I was more than surprised to see Nate on one knee - I guess it really WAS that important. I felt like I was dreaming and I couldn't say yes fast enough (after I said "seriously?!" a couple times...). Nate even had shirts for the dogs that said "Will you" and "marry me?" for the pictures. (See picture on the Photos page). Cute, right? He knows me too well.

Knowing Emma never says no to being outside with the dogs, especially when the sun is out, I made a plan one Saturday morning to get our coffee and take her to the Yacht Club. To make it seem like a normal day, I made sure I went duck hunting early in the morning which also allowed me to setup the proposal with the photographer prior to returning home. After hunting, I got ready to go to the Yacht Club and realized Emma was running a little late, which made me antsy. She didn’t know I had a photographer waiting in the woods and a schedule to follow! 10 minutes before departure, when Emma was finally ready, her dad decided to show up at the house. Before Emma could come out and say hi, I had to firmly tell Joel what was going on. I believe my comment was, "Hey Joel, remember that phone call we had last week? Well that's happening right now so you need to get out of here!" Running a little late, we hopped in the truck with the dogs and headed across the street to the Yacht Club. I had to park the truck out of the way of the photos, which was not my normal spot to park, all while making sure Emma didn't spot the photographer in the woods. I'm sure she asked why I parked there and I'm also sure I gave her a BS reason, that she bought. She's easily convinced. Once we were out of the truck and Emma was occupied by the dogs, I directed the photographer via hand signals, to the location of where I planned to propose. I referenced how pretty the fall trees were to Emma, and sure enough she started walking towards the point to take a picture. As soon as Emma started taking pictures I got on one knee and yelled "Emma!" She was ignoring me trying to get a good shot, but finally I got her attention and the photographer got her priceless reaction (see Photos page)!

When Emma finished graduate school, we relocated to Charlottesville, Virginia for her dream job as a scientist and eventually bought a house in a community around Lake Monticello. Luckily, Nate was able to keep his job as an environmental coordinator covering the northeast region of New York so he travels for work in the summer and will work remotely in the winter. We live in a house full of love in a cute little neighborhood with our two dogs, and don't think life could get much better. We spend most of our weekends working on our home, camping, boating, or exploring new places with Cammy and Izzy. We toured many venues within a 3 hour radius of our hometown. When we pulled up to The Barn at Boyden Farm, we knew it was special. We both agreed that we felt like it was where we were supposed to spend one of the best days of our life. We are so excited to celebrate our love with you and then continue building this beautiful life together. We absolutely cannot wait for 9/17/22.