Wyatt and I first met through one of our mutual friends while ice skating at The Pavilion in Bend. I was 16 when we met and had been going through some hard times, and Wyatt was the first person who had made me smile in quite some time. We talked effortlessly the entire night while skating side by side. We were instantly captivated by one another and exchanged numbers at the end of the night. We talked every so often, and even hung out a few times.. but I wasn't ready to get into a relationship because I had some things I needed to work through first. So I unfortunately ended up ghosting him for three months. After several months of not seeing each other I decided to message him about going to the Deschutes River together for some kayaking, along with his twin sister and our mutual friend. We had a blast that day and both quickly began falling for each other. We spent the whole summer building our friendship and making memories that will last a lifetime. After our amazing summer, we found ourselves going on our first official date on October 2nd, 2020, making our upcoming wedding day exactly two years after that first date. Ever since then we've continued to grow in our relationship, and as individuals. It's always been clear from the start that God intended to bring us together. We both feel blessed to have found each other so early in life, and we can't wait for the rest of forever.

On October 23rd, 2021, Wyatt and I went on a hike together along the Deschutes River. We had done this same hike together early on in our friendship, so it was definitely a special place for us. The skies were cold and gray and it had been lightly raining the entire, yet we still decided to do this hike. After we got about halfway through we stopped to look out at the views in this one spot that looks over much of the river. We stood together staring out and talking, I could tell something seemed different with him. We stayed at this area for roughly 10 minutes, he kissed me a few times, and hugged me, and I was suspicious. He jokingly asked me "You want to marry me right?", to which I replied "more than anything", he said this as we hugged each other tightly. As we were hugging I noticed him reaching into his pocket and the next thing he did was get down on one knee and said "Emily Alexandrea Rudy, will you marry me? I'm sorry I didn't prepare a speech". I was so shocked and simultaneously happy that I just froze and stuck my hand out, I meekly said yes. After he placed the ring on my finger I burst into tears of joy and buried myself into his arms. After he proposed the clouds opened up, the sun began shining, and it became a perfectly blue skied day. I like to think of the dramatic shift in weather to be God showing his approval. It was a magical moment and one I'll never forget!