Our love story began in 2012, in Madrid, Spain (well in the JFK airport over a beer and a Diet Coke to be exact)…. As luck and perhaps fate would have it, we both signed up for a summer study abroad program through our Alma Mater, Syracuse University. Despite both attending SU only a year apart, we had never formally met on campus. We spent a great deal of time together that summer, becoming the best of friends (that tended to dance together and kiss from time to time) and creating unforgettable memories that we will cherish forever. Some of our favorites include: hanging out and chatting in the school courtyard (before Wes dozed off for his mid-day siestas), trying every sandwich at Cien Montaditos, dancing until the sun rose at Kapital nightclub (Emily somehow always ended up near the DJ Booth), searching for Wes’s wallet for an entire night after being pickpocketed, and traveling to Barcelona – a place we fell in love with and re-visited together 6 years later. Our romance continued to grow when we returned to Syracuse University. Whether it was a party at the hockey house, attending a basketball game, or going to the campus bar, Chucks, we always seemed to find each other. As we spent more time together, it was clear our chemistry and love for one another was blossoming into something special. Wes finally asked Emily on a first date (mini golfing), foreshadowing Wes’s future aspirations to be a good husband with a decent handicap. However, Emily would like it known it was SHE who got a hole in one on that first date. Together now for almost a decade, we have been through quite a journey of long distance, graduations and new careers. In the summer of 2020, we concluded our long distance journey and moved to Saratoga Springs, NY – a very special place we now call home, and where we continue to build amazing memories together.

We have spent a lot of time apart in our relationship. Because of this, when we do get to be together, we really enjoy doing typical day to day things…grocery shopping, making dinner, goofing around, watching our favorite tv shows (the office, great British baking show, criminal minds, and planet earth), going to our families houses for dinner, and harassing our cat, Charlie. We know that our relationship has been so successful is because we completely trust each other and have never doubted the commitment of the other to our relationship. This is something we felt initially when Pat would travel for work, and I was stuck in Troy working on my degree and even now as I’m still stuck in Troy and Pat is working on his degree in New Hampshire. We have encouraged each other to make choices that allow us to be the best version of ourselves and reach for our goals even though it kept us apart. We both fully believe in delayed gratification and are excited that our marriage marks the beginning of our life together (in the same location too).