They couldn't have asked for a sweeter start.

Funnel cake sweet, that is. Although at the time, she actually found the arrangement a little mortifying – being a shy girl assigned to work the funnel cake booth with a boy.

This didn't keep her from leaving her shift a bit smitten. Little did Emily Chambers know, though, that Alec Britt would become not only her first boyfriend but also the only person she'd ever envision as her husband.

"I think every 16-year-old with her first boyfriend thinks, 'Oh, we’re going to get married,'" she says. "I just happened to be right.”

That isn’t to say he was her boyfriend right away. An entire school year actually passed from the time they were assigned to man that funnel cake booth in September 2008 until they went on their first date on June 25, 2009. (Emily did have some indication of Alec’s interest in between, though, thanks to his habit of stealing and hiding her phone during meetings of their academic decathlon club.)

On that first date, they saw “The Hangover” in theaters – having to sneak in since neither were old enough to see an R-rated film. But given how mature their relationship became right away, it was actually very fitting that the day they came to associate with their start as a couple included something intended for older ages.

They may not have initially thought of themselves as being beyond-their-years in their seriousness with each other (since of course they couldn’t have known their future-spouse status at that point). But they did recognize some indicators that theirs wasn’t exactly a typical teenage romance – including the fact that Alec’s family invited Emily to tag along on their vacations.

“That was more serious than what most couples were doing in high school,” she notes.

Although they were undeniably together – and thus could count on having one another as a date to school dances – Alec still went all out in asking Emily to their homecomings and proms. They shared those and other milestones together but also had to share in some difficulty as their relationship became somewhat long-distance, with him graduating a year before her and heading off to college.

Even in his absence from her day-to-day life, though, he continued to motivate her – his ACT score being the standard she aimed (and was able) to surpass. And after graduating high school herself, Emily joined Alec at the University of Kansas, where they were able to experience college life together for a couple of years before she transferred to a nursing program in Kansas City.

Their college years also came with an especially memorable trip – which was saying something, since by that time they’d already visited iconic places like Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Walt Disney World. Over Christmas and New Year’s in 2014 and 2015, though, they topped these by taking a trip to Sydney, Australia.

It wasn’t lost on Emily that the Sydney Harbour Bridge – the highest point in the city, with its famous Opera House in the background – would be a pretty ideal place for Alec to propose (especially given that a photographer snaps shots of everyone who makes the climb to the top).
 
But Alec didn’t pop the question during their climb, or during the New Year’s Eve fireworks display at Sydney Harbour. The setting may have been perfect, but the timing wasn’t – with both of them still in school and without any income for supporting themselves.

Not quite two years later, though, that situation had changed. Although Alec was still in medical school, Emily had graduated and was gainfully employed – and more than a little eager for their relationship to take the next step. Marriage was something they’d seen as a certainty for a while, and with their friends beginning to get engaged, it was seeming much more a possibility for the present.

Alec even took Emily engagement ring shopping on her birthday in 2016 and actually, unbeknownst to her, bought a ring while a stealthy salesman distracted her. But wanting the proposal to come as a surprise, he made her wait six months for it.

He also needed that time to put together his plans. After all: Given what elaborate lengths he’d gone to in asking her to high school dances and in marking other milestones – writing her a 365-line poem for their first anniversary, for example – he knew a wedding proposal with his name on it had to be especially epic.

“I wanted to make her feel like she was 16 again,” he says.

Emily + Alec

- from high-school sweethearts to saying "I do" -

By Erin Wisdom-Watson

"I think every 16-year-old with her first boyfriend thinks, 'Oh, we’re going to get married.' I just happened to be right.”

And the gesture he crafted did not disappoint. It came December 4, 2016 – a day he’d repeatedly emphasized to Emily that she needed to keep open. Thus, when her mom asked her to go to brunch that Sunday, she declined. But Alec assured her that despite all his previous warnings, accepting her mom’s invitation was fine.

It was necessary, even, as the start of his grand plan initially disguised as a girls’ day with her mom, sister and best friend. A limo took them to brunch at Grand Street Cafe, then to have their nails done, then to have drinks. 

Finally, when they returned to the limo following their third stop, Emily learned she was right in her suspicion that this wasn’t really just a girls’ day. The others in on the plan handed her a photo book Alec had made that detailed their years together in reverse chronological order.

Several bookmarks indicated where to stop reading until the next stop on the limo ride. First up was their apartment, where Alec had filled their bedroom with 700 balloons – which was a callback to how he’d asked her to their first homecoming.

Also at their apartment was a dictionary he’d hollowed out, replacing its pages with a speaker. With this gesture came a message – “I looked through this whole book without finding a word to describe how amazing you are” – as well as a song. He’d previously asked her to prom in the same way (although the song then was “Hey, Soul Sister” by Train, while the second time around the speaker in the dictionary played “From the Ground Up” by Dan + Shay).



The limo’s next stop was Emily’s mom’s house. Alec had set out pumpkins carved with “I love you,” which also harkened to a homecoming invitation he’d done in high school. 

But the most important stop was still to come – and it was one he’d designed not only to be the beginning of their next chapter but also to correspond to where their story started.

When Emily stepped out of the limo at Old Shawnee Town – where they’d worked that funnel cake booth together eight years earlier – luminaries lined the path to where Alec stood waiting. “Hey, Soul Sister” began playing, and the proposal to which the entire day had been building – not to mention a good portion of their lives! – finally came to pass.

After Emily said “yes,” they headed to the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City to celebrate. They ordered way too much food at the Capital Grille and would have gone on a horse-drawn carriage ride afterward, had a freak accident earlier that evening not put the carriages out of commission. 

It was a little unbelievable that out of all the details that had to fall into place for the day to go perfectly, a spooked horse ended up being the weak link. But the day was still more than Emily ever could have anticipated and, most importantly, allowed them to start planning for their really Big Day.

That day will be March 3, 2018, when they’ll tie the knot at Terrace on the Grand in Kansas City. And in keeping with all the symbolism woven throughout their milestones, they’ll share their first dance as husband and wife to “From the Ground Up,” the song Alec incorporated into his proposal. 

As exciting as their wedding will be, it will have some competition from other milestones they’ll experience around that time – including Alec’s medical school graduation and the reveal of where they’ll spend the next three years as he completes his residency. 

But wherever they end up, the most important thing is that they’ll be together – building the life they’ve imagined for so long and continuing to bring out the best in each other. 

Undoubtedly, he’ll continue to calm her when she gets frustrated in the kitchen and to push her a bit more toward spontaneity. She’ll continue to be the person he wants on his side during any competition (“Otherwise she’ll come at me with the fury of a thousand fires,” he says). And together, they’ll continue being dedicated to what they do, always setting high goals for themselves.

They’ll also – even at a young age – always have a lot to look back on.



“We’ve grown up together and watched each other evolve,” Emily says. “We’ve been through a lot, and we’re excited for more.” 

"I think every 16-year-old with her first boyfriend thinks, 'Oh, we’re going to get married.'
I just happened to be right.”