Emily grew up in the small farming community of Shiocton, WI with her parents, Mary and Joe, and younger brother Alex. She graduated from Ripon College in 2010 with a double major of History and Studio Art. She currently works as the Graphic Design and Publications Assistant at the National Forensic League in Ripon, WI. Emily loves kittens, sewing, knitting, spinning, all kinds of crafting, and giving Arthur a hard time.
Arthur Bratton - The Groom
Arthur was born in Taos, NM, but grew up in Libertyville, IL, a suburb of Chicago, with his parents, Geoff and Katie, and three sisters Amanda, Whitney, and Susan. He graduated from Ripon College with a degree in business administration and is currently the Web Content and Social Media Manager for the National Forensic League. Arthur enjoys playing with electronics, going for bike rides, and getting in the way when Emily is trying to cook.
How We Met
Emily remembers seeing Arthur for the first time during Ripon's "Take Over the Union" event her freshman year. The theme was dinosaurs and she distinctly remembers meeting a sorta-nerdy, but really fun looking junior classmen dressed as the paleontologist from Jurassic Park. Arthur used to play ultimate frisbee on campus where he met a lot of his friends, including Emily's best friend since kindergarten, Misty Brum. Misty started bringing her cute friend Emily along to hangout after frisbee at Art and his roommates' suite. They would snuggle in and watch movies and episodes of Futurama together.
Eventually, (two years later!), they officially started dating. Then, when Emily spent a semester abroad in London, Arthur decided to surprise her by visiting. Sarah Leeman helped Arthur get into their flat in London in the middle of the night and Emily was super excited to see Art! Art sent her flowers for Valentines Day from half way across the world and they kept touch via Skype until Emily returned. After graduating College, Emily moved back home for a short time, but then got a job in Ripon, where Art was living.
The Proposal
On a cool April day, Art and Emily took the train to go on a day-trip to the Art Institute in Chicago. The whole time Arthur was super nervous that if he took off his jacket, he might loose the ring, so he left it on the entire time they were in the museum even though he was overheating. After touring the museum and getting lunch Emily and Art walked out to Navy Pier to ride the ferris wheel. Art was worried that they would have to share a car with someone they didn't know, but luckily they got one to themselves, and Emily had been feeling sick that day and is also a little afraid of heights, so she was worried that she would get nauseous being up that high, but she didn't. Emily could tell something was up when Art kept switching seats from one side of the car to the other. She was trying to check out the view but his moving around was distracting. He sat next to her and asked her if she wanted to take a picture, and then he switched sides again! Then, Art dropped down one knee and pulled the ring out of his pocket and before he could even finish asking Emily to marry him, she said yes and kissed him! They had to run back to the station to catch their train, but as soon as they caught their breath they were calling family and friends to share the news!
Our Wedding
We are so excited to share our special day with you, our dearest family and friends. We are so blessed to hold our celebration at Ripon College, the very place we met and fell in love. We hope that you enjoy the day, we are honored to have you at the start of our life together!
