9 Questions with Eric and Emily


1. Where did you meet?

Emily: At the end of my freshman year at UGA, I went to a party hosted by the campus ministry I’d been attending. That night, over barbeque and s'mores, friendships began, and UGA felt like home for the first time. I stayed until the fire burned low.


Probably the first time we were in a picture together

Eric: At the end of the night, I said goodbye to a shy girl wearing jean shorts and a shirt with clouds on it, and she had the most uniquely colored eyes I had ever seen.

Emily: Less than 24 hours later, I bumped into Eric in line for lunch. It ended up taking over an hour to get our food, so we talked over our rumbly stomachs and got to know each other.

Eric: I remember feeling shy excitement when I realized Emily was a part of the group of friends that met at the dining hall the next day.

Emily: By that point, I had given up on trying to flirt like a normal human woman. Instead, I started rambling about some internet cult I had heard about recently...and against all odds, that worked.


2. Who asked who out?

Eric: I was immediately interested in Emily, but I chose a bad time to start dating her. She lived in Atlanta, summer was starting, I had just gotten out of a long relationship, and she was going to Australia for a month. I held out hope because she had slyly-not-so-slyly asked me and my friend for our numbers.

Emily: We texted like millennial fiends for the entire summer. Eric was intentional about getting to know me: my favorite things, my sense of humor, what made me tick. He clearly respected me and valued my thoughts—a hard thing to show over text.

Eric: I painfully waited for her to get back to the States and immediately called her to ask her on a date.

Emily: When he called, I almost fell out of the hammock I was sitting in. It was so classy and old-fashioned my brain totally shut off for the duration of the phone call, and I couldn’t stop smiling. When the date night arrived, however, things fizzled. We got lost, missed the band we tried to see, and descended into stiffness for the rest of the night. The chemistry of our previous “not a date” dinner seemed to have evaporated into thin air. I crashed at Emily Schoone’s house and bemoaned the apparent end of things.

Eric: I got really frazzled because I thought she was slipping away, but Emily genuinely did want to take her time and make sure dating me was the right decision. Another “not a date” dinner at Chipotle saved us. She made me a mixtape, we had some good food, and hopes and dreams were reignited.

Emily: Everyone can be themselves at Chipotle.

The day of our first kiss

3. When did you say “I love you?”

Emily: When you know in your heart that you love someone, not saying it feels like swallowing bees. The first six months of our relationship flew by in a whirl of hand holding, adventuring, and really good conversation—then bam, Valentine’s Day arrived. For me, it was a deadline: I couldn’t live with myself if I let the day pass without telling Eric what I had known for a while.

Eric: I didn’t mean to make Valentine’s Day our six-month-iversary, but it happens 🙈. Emily and I cooked an amazingly good dinner of salmon and honey glazed carrots together and lit some candles. I hadn’t told Emily I loved her before because I didn’t want to scare her off.

Emily: Over dinner, we discussed this list of 36 questions that had gone viral in the New York Times for making people fall in love. They were thoughtful questions about our family backgrounds, motivations, and dreams, and at the end of the night, I felt that I had everything I needed to take this next step. I told him I loved him, shaking like a leaf.

Eric: Under the candlelight, she logically listed out all the reasons we were great together and her conclusion was “...and I love you.” I so didn’t expect to hear those words that all I said was “What??”


4. When did you know ?

Eric: I want to say that I knew on our first unofficial date. That night, she brought me Tim Tams from Australia, and we didn’t stop talking until we realized the restaurant was closed and all the chairs had been put on the tables. Who wouldn’t want to be with someone who you can get lost in conversation with?

Emily: My relationship with Eric unfolded beautifully over time—walking step by step together can take you pretty far. But it wasn’t easy. For most of my life, I believed the books that insisted I would recognize my life partner instantly, and when that didn’t happen, I struggled with doubt and fear. But inch by inch, joy crept in. A couple years in, I realized the fear was gone. Eric proposed to me on a Thursday in February, and I proposed right back with a Ring Pop.

Proposing in the NMI


5. How have you grown together?

Emily: It’s such a wonderful feeling to grow in tune with someone else, to have that jittery distance settle into a place you belong. From the very start, Eric showed me that he had a vision for our relationship. I did too, and we got to work creating it. For example, I made a promise to Eric early on that if I shared a problem with him, I would show him "the whole iceberg:” he would never have to worry if there was more frustration or disappointment hidden beneath. Daily, I remind him that I will have his back, be his girl, and never go easy on him in video games.

Eric: The most important Facebook message I’ve ever received was this link from my mom. I used it as part of a foundation for how Emily and I would move forward. We value openness in our thoughts and feelings, we value a deep understanding for each other that starts with empathy, and we value each other as human beings. We made a promise to each other early on that we would always reference that message if any part of our relationship started heading south. We’ve always had each other’s back even during some video game competition.

Emily: We played Halo once, Eric rigged the game against me, and I’m still not over it.

Eric: Above all, though, we’ve grown in our love for each other every day, and we celebrate this wedding with our whole hearts.


6. What is your favorite thing about the other person?

Eric: I love Emily’s beautiful mind. Beautiful Mind is a phrase coined by one of our favorite artists, Jon Bellion. Jon plays with a few other artists who have adopted the idea of Beautiful Mind as a lifestyle. Having a beautiful mind is characterized by first, being someone who is genuine. After talking to this person, you’ll feel cared for and have a desire to speed this feeling. Beautiful Mind also refers to creativity. This person is wonderfully expressive through music, copywriting, creative writing, puns and all. Someone with a Beautiful Mind is not afraid to tell you what they believe, and they will become a walking sandwich board for the things they care about. Lastly, someone with a Beautiful Mind has a deep sense of connection with their family and friends and possesses unwavering loyalty. Emily has a wonderfully Beautiful Mind.

Emily: Oh man. Even if I put my fiancé bias aside, I know I'm getting the better deal here. Eric is the most selfless, compassionate, and faithful person I know. He treats everyone with respect and kindness, and he is such an example for me. When Twitter crisis #547 gets me down, Eric has an unshakeable faith that love will win the day. His empathy borders on superhuman— he’s able to truly understand people’s motivations, even if they don’t understand themselves at all. You can only imagine how lucky I am, then, to be loved by him. Also, have you SEEN him?



We pulled over to pet goats and dogs

7. What are some of your favorite date spots?

Eric: On our first anniversary, I cooked Emily dinner, surprised her at a haunted farm, and got her the joke gift of underpants for your hands.

Emily: Best birthday ever.

Eric: On our second anniversary, we took a trip to Greenville, SC. This wonderful trip was about 10 mini-dates in one—from the fanciest bookstore we’ve ever seen to some of the most delicious coffee west of the north pole. Last but not least: she surprised me with a baby goat to pet on a random day in March.

Emily: Eric and I have flown to Spain, shared an annual membership to a board game cafe, gone dogspotting, endured long-distance separations, shopped for Christmas trees, and shared a first kiss under a secluded waterfall. Eric’s even voluntarily gone to the DMV for me after I was an idiot and lost my wallet. We’ve volunteered at three TEDx conferences, swing danced in a parking garage, and taken care of each other through colds and worse. Eric has shown that he’s willing to go to the ends of the earth with me, and I can’t wait to prove the same.


8. What have you learned about love?

Eric: Emily and I communicate and we aren’t natural fighters. We get so much accomplished by sitting down and talking something out instead of hashing it out over an argument. Our love is deep because we share a solid foundation in Christ together. A large part of loving your partner well is making them feel understood. We genuinely enjoy finding new ways to love each other every day. I know I’m with my best friend and soulmate.

Emily: To share your heart and your life with another person, you must be honest and very brave. It’s terrifying, and it’s the only thing worth doing. As humans, Eric and I will make mistakes, even hurt each other. We’re young and not experts on anything. But to have someone's back in this world, to stand by their side no matter what happens—that’s powerful.

Announcing our engagement to all our friends 😊

9. Final thoughts on this whole wedding thing?

Emily: Eric and I view marriage as an act of creation, of making something new. We are building this love to last, and we are so grateful for the continued support of our community.

Eric: We are overjoyed that we get to share this day with you. We’ve planned this wedding according to how we live our lives together, and every piece of decor and every detail of the day comes from a choice we made together. Thank you for reading and for being a wonderful part of our lives.