As Told by Caleb Burgess

I met Emily at the young adults church ministry called Off the Clock. She and I would chat a little bit each week, but little did I know… Emily had a horrible first impression of me and did not think I was a good guy at first. She had her preconceived thoughts about me being a college baseball player with a mustache and mullet.. Apparently we get a bad rep. This means our love story started as a true comeback story for me, since Emily essentially wanted no part of me when we first met. I intentionally started talking to Emily every Tuesday at Off The Clock. One night, we talked for a couple hours after the service (HUGE progress!) and after those short hours I knew that this girl was worth pursuing. I saw small glimpses into her character, her love for her family, and her intentionality when talking to people. I sought out ways to talk to her more, including offering to make her a hoodie just to DM her on Instagram. From then on, Emily was known to my friends as ‘Hoodie Girl’.

In one of these weekly conversations with Emily, I mentioned that I was going to a Zach Bryan concert at the Red Rocks In Colorado that weekend. Emily asked me to send her a video of the concert, and I knew that was my opportunity to secure her phone number so I could send concert videos. From there, we did the classic rigmarole of texting a few for a few weeks, but I knew I had to ask her on a date soon.

Finally, I asked Emily on a date and she said yes, but only for the following week since she was going out of town that upcoming weekend. In those next few days, I must have really pulled out the charm, because she came back and asked to see me before her vacation. I came over and helped her pack for her trip. That night the sparks really flew as we talked about life, flirted a little bit... and danced to a vinyl. The following week was our official first date, and boy was it a doozy. I picked Emily up with flowers and we headed to a restaurant in lower Greenville, and all was going great. Until we get back to the car… or I should say, where my car was supposed to be. My car was towed. When this happened I turned to Emily and said, “Want to go on an adventure to get my car back?” Emily says Yes! We embarked on a very unexpected journey through downtown Dallas to find my car and buy it back. Once we finally got my car from the pound and got her home, we ended the night with a very sweet first kiss. This was 12/7/22. After that first date, we went on a total of 13 dates by 12/20/22. I even met her family by Christmas. We were falling hard for each other and couldn't see and date each other enough. By 01/06/23 we were officially dating and loving every second of it. Between us, I was having a hard time not falling in love with her so fast.

This entire year dating Emily has been the best year of my life. Whether we were going on family trips, having small lazy days together, or just doing the mundane tasks of life like grocery shopping. I always wanted her near. She is the perfect life partner. She is kind hearted, generous, self sacrificing, has a servant's heart, and shows unconditional love.

For the engagement, this was a fun process. I didn’t like it, but I had to keep secrets from Emily, like when I bought the ring or asked her parents for their blessing. After getting to know Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin, I knew confidently where Emily learned to love people so well. They are wonderful parents and have never offered anything but full support. After I secured their blessing, I had to get to work planning the proposal. Through some connections, I was able to get the 40th floor sky lobby in the chase tower to myself to pop the question. When Saturday came around, November 11th 2023, I was full of nerves but got Emily up to the tower without her catching on. I asked her to marry me, and we got to start our dream of loving each other until we are old and gray. Needless to say, it was the most amazing day and such a wonderful time to spend time with friends and family afterwards.

Now as I'm writing this, we are planning our wedding - Emily and I could not be more excited to declare our vows in front of our friends and family. We are glad we got to show a little glimpse of our love story. And Emily, all’s well that ends well to end up with you.

Registry