We're getting married!

It all started, like most modern love stories do, on a dating app. Emily was on the verge of deleting Bumble after a string of bad dates, until she swiped to Jake's profile. She noticed immediately the podcast inside joke included in his bio (Your Mom's House - if you know, you know). She and Jake got to messaging, and the banter between their texts turned into an invitation to dinner. Jake and Emily met for their first date at Zaffiro's pizza on the East Side of Milwaukee on a chilly November day. They sat at the tiny pizzeria's only high-top table in the bar area, split a large 'za, and talked about everything under the sun. The hours flew like minutes. Something good was beginning. Soon enough, they were cooking elaborate dinners together, going on bowling dates at the Bay View Bowl, and seeing live music together in the Back Room at Colectivo. One night, while watching a Packer game on Emily's couch, Jake would put his arm around her and ask, "So, what do you think about being my main squeeze?" So classy, Jacob! Emily gladly accepted. The rest, as they say, is history.

Emily had made clear to Jake many times that she dreamed of getting engaged in Door County at her family's cottage. She had also expressed to him that she desired to become a fiancée sometime in early summer of 2023. So subtle, Emily! They drove up to the cottage for Memorial Day weekend, with Emily sniffing around for hints of an impending engagement. Her parents helped throw her off the scent by implicating that the weekend plans centered around her Grandpa. Once her mom got Emily out of the house on a shopping trip, Jake prepped the cottage for the big ask. Upon Emily's return, she walked up to the door, with a note reading "Follow the Petals" taped onto it. She slowly opened the door, and followed a path of faux rose petals to a petal heart with yet another note inside it: "Look Up." The song "Welcome to Earth" by Sturgill Simpson played softly in the background. Overhead, Jake popped his head out of the inner window of the cottage. Emily recalls telling Jake that she and her late brother, Charlie, would pass notes in a basket from that window between the upper and lower floors of the cottage. What does Jake produce at the window? A basket. Tears started to well up. He lowered the basket down via ribbon to the eagerly awaiting Emily. Jake descended the stairs, wearing a nice button-down, khaki pants, and to complete the look, flannel house slippers. From the basket, he plucked out a handwritten note and the ring box. After reading the beautiful note to Emily, he got on one knee and popped the question. Emily enthusiastically accepted. On the shopping trip, Emily had purchased a white sundress (just in case) so she threw it on for some photos. The happy couple and Emily's parents celebrated with an amazing dinner at Door County fine dining establishment, the Wickman House. It was the best day ever.

Jake and Emily's love story would not be complete without the story of Stanley, "Stan," their much-adored pup. It just so happened that Jake and Emily both came into the relationship with an existing love of wiener dogs. Jake had grown extremely fond of his best friend Codie's (now Best Man) dachshund, Ricky. And we all know the Burtons have their beloved wiener, Frank. So there was no question that Emily and Jake's first baby would be a dachshund. After waiting all summer long in 2022, the couple brought Stan home on September 19th. Since that day, Stan ("Stinky," "Dinky," and sometimes "Dorkus") would become their pride and joy. Stan loves chasing his ball, going to Door County, laying in the recliner with Jake, and going on long walks around Bay View with Emily. He is known by the neighborhood auto shop guys (shoutout to Sid's) as "the cutest little guy in town." Who could possibly disagree with that statement?