We grew up just a few miles apart in Sylvania, Ohio — and spent nearly every day together from Kindergarten through 8th grade at St. Joseph’s. After that, life took us in different directions: different high schools, different colleges, different cities.

And yet, the universe kept pulling us back together.

There were little moments over the years — crossing paths in an ACT prep course in high school, visits with friends to BGSU and even a surprise encounter in a Chicago bar when Emily was living in Texas and Max was already rooted in the Windy City. It always felt easy, familiar, and warm.

On a snowy Christmas Eve Eve in 2022, we ran into each other (again!) at a Toledo Walleye hockey game — and timing felt right. Days later, Max was on a plane to Dallas to visit Emily, and just like that, our love story officially began.

Over the next year, we built our relationship across state lines — we counted 28 flights back and forth between Dallas and Chicago! Falling in love one weekend at a time, filling our weekends with museums, cozy dinners, laughter, and love. A year later, Emily packed up her life in Texas and moved north to be with Max, settling into a cozy Lincoln Park apartment complete with a fireplace and all the charm of a new chapter.

We quickly fell in love with the little things about our life, like our favorite walking routes. One of which those routes became especially meaningful when Max took Emily back a year later and asked her to marry him!

Today, that little apartment is still our home base — a place filled with weekend Cubs games, spontaneous travel plans, date nights and slow evenings curled up by the fire. It's where we've built a life together grounded in comfort, joy, and the kind of love that feels like coming home.

We feel so lucky to have found our way back to each other after all these years — and we’re beyond excited to celebrate this next chapter with all of you by our side.