We begin in Las Vegas...In September of 2014, Emily found herself roped into leading a bible study in the middle of an intense graduate program, a full time internship, and a part time job. That same month, Russell found himself looking at a list of bible studies on the Crossing's website. At the very bottom of the page was Emily's group. He felt bad for her. How many people would sign up for the group at the very bottom? So he signed up. September 11th, the first night of bible study, Russell and Emily met...
Soon, the two were friends--chatting at events, spending time together and texting back and forth. After a couple months of shameless flirting, they had crushes on each other but neither one knew how the other felt. In mid-December, Russell was offered a promotion... in Houston. Russell was excited and sad. He wanted the promotion but he also really liked Emily. However, at this point they were just friends so he thought he ought to take the job. When he told Emily about the promotion, she was also very excited for Russell but sad he was leaving. Neither knew what to do, so they both prayed about it. Emily went home early for Christmas and they spoke every night. More and more, they were surprised at how much they liked each other.
So even though it didn't make sense and even though it was terrible timing, Russell asked Emily out. Emily came back to Vegas early, they went out, told each other how they felt, and went out on not one, but nine dates. When it came to Russell's moving day, they did not want to say goodbye. So, they prayed together and decided to keep dating long distance. Instead of saying goodbye, they said a tearful "see you soon". For six months, they traveled between Houston and Las Vegas, talked on the phone every day for hours, and, ultimately, fell in love.
Still, while love is grand, long distance is definitely not. Emily and Russell wanted to be in the same city! So, Emily decided it only made sense for her to move to Houston when she finished her graduate degree. Russell flew out to Vegas and they road tripped back to Houston together, stopping at the Grand Canyon, the petrified forest, Roswell, NM, the Sonora Caverns, etc. Once in Houston, Russell and Emily were just so happy to get to see each other every day. They spent their time exploring Houston, going on dates, eating local fare, and falling even more in love. On September 11, 2015, a year after they met, Russell took Emily out to a nice dinner and asked her to marry him. Emily said yes! Ecstatic, they went out and danced the night away.
Now, Emily and Russell are preparing to get married. They love worshipping the Lord, playing games, eating eclectic food, drinking good wine, dancing to Sinatra, and spending time with friends and family. Together they've decided to incorporate all these elements into a wonderful, celebratory wedding day! (We can't wait to see you there!)
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15 Fun Facts about Us1. We both only lived in Las Vegas a couple years before we met. Russell moved to Vegas in 2012 for a better job and Emily moved in 2013 for school.
2. Russell and Emily are Nomads... we've both lived in six states; three of the states we've lived in are the same (North Carolina, Nevada, and Texas). 3. We are both the second born in our family... however, Emily is second of two kids while Russell is second of five kids. 4. We're big foodies. We both enjoy cooking and exploring new restaurants (typically found on Yelp). Additional fun fact: Russell is a professionally trained chef but he still says Emily is the better cook. 5. We LOVE The Walking Dead. In fact, this has inspired several conversations about our own survival strategies. Essentially, this strategy is "don't go in there"!
6. We're explorers. One of our favorite activities is finding local, fun things to do. We also both love traveling and seeing the sites. One of our favorite exploratory ventures was to Galveston, TX, which is why the wedding is there. 7. The occasional cigar hits the spot. That's right... when the moment hits us and it's a nice evening, we may light up a stogie and puff away. Additional interesting fact, Russell can blow smoke rings. 8. We both like outdoor sports like biking and kayaking. Two of Emily's favorite ever dates: (1) biking through the Buffalo Bayou and (2) kayaking in the Armand Bayou (though Emily's still upset we didn't see an alligator). 9. We really want a Vitamix... well really Emily really, really wants a Vitamix. No day goes by without Emily telling Russell all the things they can make with a Vitamix (it's on the Amazon registry in fact). "But seriously, you can make nut butters, hummus, soups, smoothies, ice cream, pulled pork, whipped cream, ground meat, powdered sugar..." -- Emily.
10. Neither of us care much for sports. We're still trying to find out how many innings are in a football trimester. 11. We both had braces. Emily had hers for two years and Russell had his for one year, so Emily wins. 12. We like to play music while we cook together. Sometimes when the right Sinatra comes on, we put everything down and dance instead.
13. We both like to read. Though Emily reads "exciting" fiction while Russell reads "boring" non-fiction (both quotes from Emily). 14. We love to swim. Additional fun fact: Emily tries to save all the drowning bugs from the pool. 15. And of course, we both love holding hands. And yes, we know we're gross. |