Jeff & Emma first met, face-to-face, in February 2017, but that's not where it all began... Emma and her brother, Andrew, went to the NDSU semi-final game in December 2016, where they sat in the front row of the family section. Andrew left with friends leaving Emma alone in the stands. It didn't take long for a friendly set of parents behind her to start making conversation. They introduced themselves as #86's parents. After Emma clarified that she was Andrew's sister and NOT his girlfriend, they talked about sports and NDSU and their son's decorated athletic career. They bonded over track and discussed Emma's future as a Bison. When the game was finished, they said their goodbyes, and no less than an hour later Jeff and Emma found each other on social media to connect. They exchanged numbers and texted back and forth the next day but left things at that. A week later, Jeff reached out to Emma...which would lead to more texts, which lead to phone calls, and eventually hours worth of FaceTime getting to know each other and even falling asleep talking on the phone. It wasn't until Jeff's birthday in April that Emma would surprise Jeff with concert tickets, and he would in return bring Emma home to meet his family for the "first" time.

It was July 3rd in Iowa and Emma and Jeff were at Matt and Katie's for their annual Independence Day party. The entire day was spent playing games and catching up with friends and family. As the night wound down and they began to set up fireworks, Emma set up their chairs in the perfect spot and went inside. When she came out, their chairs were in front of the crowd, where Katie claimed it was "safer". Finally seated and ready for the show, a familiar song came on by Cody Johnson, Jeff and Emma's favorite artist. - Baby, there's a shooting star, That ones for me and you So, hold me tight, make that wish, and pray that it comes true Now I ain't sure of much But this I know I got a diamond in my pocket and my baby's got a heart of gold - "Diamond in my Pocket" played and Jeff asked Emma to stand up with him. While Emma was surprised that Jeff would ever willingly dance in front of people, she realized this was a much better surprise as Jeff dropped to one knee, pulled a diamond from his pocket, and asked her to be his wife. With a cheerful audience and a round of applause, the fireworks followed a tearful "yes".