Emily first caught Ryan’s eye when she started attending Cornerstone Church after moving to La Crosse in 2021. After a few months, he finally introduced himself when they were walking into the church at the same time. After talking for just a few minutes before and after the service, it was discovered that they share a lot of mutual interests and phone numbers were exchanged. From there a strong friendship grew into a romantic relationship and the two have been inseparable ever since!

With a shared love of hiking, what better place to propose than at the top of the same hiking trail Ryan and Emily completed on their first date? Ryan had it all planned out in advance: he had a friend ask them to go on a hike to avoid suspicion, brought a bottle of champagne to pop, and hid the ring in his dog’s backpack. The 3 reached the snow-covered lookout and Ryan asked Emily to take a picture with him (this is where Emily should have been suspicious, since Ryan never wants to take pictures). Little did she know, the picture being taken was actually a video that captured Ryan getting down on one knee and pulling out a gorgeous ring! Emily was so surprised that she couldn’t even say anything right away, but gave an enthusiastic YES once he asked her to marry him!