Emily and Brian first met in 2016 at the start of their freshman year at Davidson College as members of the Swim and Dive team. They immediately hit it off and grew to be close friends, with Emily often asking Brian to attend various events with her. After some "will they, won't they" throughout their time at Davidson, the couple decided to try dating for a few months their junior year. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't quite right, so they called it off, but both wondered if there was still something more.

After a virtual Zoom graduation, Brian and Emily reconnected as part of a class trip to Emily's family lake house to celebrate their college graduation. This trip resulted in several follow up texts and Facetime sessions as the two navigated social distancing measures due to COVID-19 and rebuilt their relationship. The couple decided to try again, and made it official in late July of that same year.

Knowing that they were heading to different cities after graduating college (Brian to Nashville for his MAcc and Emily to San Antonio for TFA), the couple agreed to make the long distance work by visiting each other as much as possible. Brian first came to visit Emily in San Antonio in September of 2020 and continued to visit for the following two years...

...while Emily visited Brian in Nashville during his time in school and Washington, DC once he started his job at EY...

...and the two of them even made time for various trips exploring new areas of the country, including their trip to Big Bend National Park!

Brian and Emily adopted their pup Percy and moved in together during the summer of 2022 when Emily started medical school at VCU in Richmond, VA. They've loved exploring Richmond and all it has to offer...

...and have of course continued to cheer on the Dawgs and watch as much college football as possible. (Fun fact: their wedding is in the spring to avoid any conflict with college football weekends)

After 4 years of dating (this second time around), Brian popped the question after an elaborate scheme to get Emily to a beautiful mountain overlook in Wintergreen, VA on a weekend off from her medical school rotations!