Ben and Emerson met in Kentucky four years ago during a summer JROTC training in 2021. Not long after, they started spending time together. Emerson lived only about an hour away, so it was easy for them to start hanging out outside of school. At first it was just casual, shopping, thrifting, grabbing food, but it didn’t take long for it to turn into more than friends. By the middle of senior year, they were officially dating and pretty much inseparable whenever they were in the same place.

After graduation of high school, life pulled them in different directions. Ben moved across the country to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, while Emerson began at NOVA Community College before transferring to William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Long distance wasn’t always easy, but it taught them how to choose each other on the ordinary days. Four years later, on August 28th of this year, Ben asked the question and now they’re so excited to start the next chapter and step into forever, side by side.