Emily and Noah met in the summer of 2012. He was a meatcutter studying culinary arts and she was a vegetarian English major. Different from each other in the most fundamental ways, their sense of humor, value of loyalty, and shared love of music united them in a lifelong partnership that continues to this day. In 2015 Emily and Noah bought the home that they share, and have spent the past decade renovating it together to make it the home of their dreams. Noah graduated from the Kirkwood Culinary program in 2014 and Emily graduated from the University of Iowa with honors in English. Today Emily and Noah both work in the non-profit sphere serving people with disabilities. They share two (possibly three) cats, and their beloved dog and future flowergirl, Abby. Both are passionate advocates for the LGBT community, animal welfare, disability rights, and mental health/addiction care reform. Noah and Emily enjoy spending their free time cooking together, searching for the "weird and wonderful" while traveling the midwest, and hosting themed parties with their friends and family.

For Emily and Noah family come first, blood and chosen. In planning their wedding they have prioritized honoring both the family that could be present and those who are no longer with us. Both the wedding date of August 16th and the Little Brown Church venue were chosen to honor Emily grandma and grandpa Pennington. Engagement photos were taken at Morgan Creek Park in honor of Emily's father, Dean Edward Brown and the rest of the Brown family. Emily walks the aisle in her father's jacket in lieu of being escorted down the aisle. Bridal arrangements feature orange blossoms and pearls in remembrance of Noah's grandmother, Jo Ann Reinert. At their reception, Emily and Noah have chosen to feature traditional family recipes along with modern fare. Featured at their welcome station will be remastered family photos and footage in celebration of the love stories that came before them.