Even though Austin and Emily went to different high schools they've known of each other since middle school. Emily was bestfriends with Austin's cousin Claudia since they were 12 years old, so their paths crossed a few times before Labor Day weekend in 2015. Emily and Claudia were basically inseparable the entire summer so it was no surprise when Emily joined in on the Kosinski Labor Day weekend at Grandma and Grandpas cabin in Mio. Austin and Emily both found each other single around the same time, naturally, Claudia mentioned this to Austin and they started snapchatting and texting just a few days before the weekend, building up the excitement to hangout in person. Emily and Claudia got up north before Austin so they were... just slightly buzzed when he arrived. (Mariah Johnson makes fantastic mixed drinks) The first night was filled with so many laughs, all of us just being typical teenagers, hanging out around a bonfire. It was the next day when Austin and Emily started talking and connecting on a deeper level. It really did just click. They opened up right away and started talking about everything. It felt so easy and comfortable. After that weekend it took a total of five days to make the relationship "official." I love yous were shared a few days after that and very quickly the new normal was spending every free moment together. It was the happiest they have ever been up to that point in life, and from then on their love grows more and more every day.

Austin and Emily went to college at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan. They have a special connection with the Upper Peninsula since they spent about five years of their lives up there. It was the second year the families took a side by side trip up to Hulbert, Michigan in the UP. Their parents were in on fabricating an entire story to throw Emily off. They grabbed some lunch at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub then Austin suggested going to look at the falls. Emily thought it was a fun idea since the only other time she's seen the falls was when they were frozen during a snowmobile trip back in 2016. As they walked up to an open ledge and gazed at the falls, Austin got on one knee and Emily was in complete shock. Austin hired a photographer to capture the moment and Emily had no idea someone was taking photos because there were tons of people walking around with cameras. Austin said he had an entire speech planned for weeks but said nothing he thought he would because Emily was crying and he felt an overload of emotions. It was a perfect moment and a perfect day. They couldn't have dreamed of a more prefect proposal.