Alex & Emily were both dental students at the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health and started school together in July of 2016. They both vividly remember the first time they met tubing down the Salt River with dental school classmates a few days before school started. Alex asked for a beer from his cooler and Emily awkwardly commended him for being a "Corona man." After 3 years of being dental school classmates and friends, Alex and Emily had a fourth year externship experience in Seattle, WA in December of 2019 with a mutual friend, Ramez. Because Ramez was still studying to take his dental boards, Alex and Emily were left to explore Seattle as a duo. They spent the month doing all the touristy Seattle activities together- going to a Seahawks game, the Space Needle, the Gum Wall, and Public Market- enjoying many dinners and drinks together along the way. Finally, Ramez left Seattle for a weekend, leaving Alex and Emily alone. It was over this weekend that both Alex and Emily realized there could be more than friendship between them. Alex was the first to make a move, suggesting to Emily that they probably should "try to date." Although Emily was hesitant to "make it weird," they ultimately both decided that they make perfect sense together. Alex and Emily left Seattle as a couple & the rest is history!
For as long as they'd been together, Alex had told Emily how much she would love Costa Rica. When they finally had a chance to travel there together, Alex knew that was the place he would propose. After spending the first 2 days of their trip in Manuel Antonio, Alex and Emily traveled across the country to Arenal to stay at the incredible Nayara Gardens property. The property has incredible wild life, and they planned to explore the property during the day on the second day of their trip. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Alex had arranged for a photographer to be waiting to take photos after he surprised Emily with a proposal. Though there were some hiccups with construction and a language barrier, Alex was still able to pull off an incredible surprise proposal!