She walked in, and he knew. 'Oh, man. I gotta get it together,' he thought.

Emily Mannis and Patrick Dougherty 

Sept. 9, 2018

THE INTRODUCTION: Emily Mannis and Patrick Dougherty, both of Wilmington, met on Tinder after they both swiped right on each other's post. They hit it off immediately online. Emily had just moved into a new apartment and was working on marketing compliance from there. Pat had just moved from New York City to take a job as an office manager at Heirloom Wealth Advisors in Greenville. They quickly realized that Tuesday that they had the same sense of humor. Emily liked that Pat was quick-witted, funny and easy to talk to. Pat thought Emily looked adventurous and fun. Both were excited the other was a musician. He is a bass guitar player and she is a singer. While it was Patrick's first rodeo on Tinder. Emily had more experience and was quick to ask Pat if he wanted to meet in person. It's the only way to know if there's something there, she said. 

THE FIRST DATE: Two days later, they met at Ubon on the Wilmington Riverfront, which they picked because Emily knew a band playing there. Pat expected it to be just a standard first date. Then Emily walked in. "I knew as soon as I saw her," he said. "I immediately felt wildly unprepared for dating this woman. I thought, 'Oh, man. I gotta get it together.'" Emily was a bit more reserved, but knew there was something special about Pat that was worth exploring. 

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THE FIRST KISS: They went out three more times, and finally kissed after the fourth date. She made the first move. He doesn't know why he didn't. "That's a great question and one that will haunt me," he said. They continued to get along well, but both were waiting for the other shoe to drop. It never did, and it became clear they were meant for each other. By their first anniversary, which they consider to be April 21 when they decided to date exclusively, they were talking about marriage. She had even picked out the stone she wanted, a gray diamond. 

THE PROPOSAL:  Emily expected a proposal soon, but didn't know when. Pat kept telling her it would have to come after their first anniversary and that he didn't want her to be disappointed if she didn't get a ring because he wanted to focus on the anniversary. She even texted him the day before their anniversary and said, "Honey, I'm serious. Should I get a manicure?" She wanted her hands to look pretty in photographs if she was getting a ring. I don't want you to be bummed out. I'm not giving you a ring," he texted back. As he was racing up the New Jersey Turnpike to meet his New York jeweler in the parking lot of an Ikea. "Like a drug dealer," he said. Then Pat rushed back to Delaware in time for dinner. On their anniversary, they went to breakfast, hiked and shopped for records. Then Pat surprised her with a small box that held earrings and a note that told her to pack a bag for the night. After a winding drive, they ended up at the Montchanin Inn, where he surprised her with a spa visit. After she finished, they piled into his car and he announced, "Next stop!" They drove three parking spaces and pulled in. She was thrilled with the room, which had a fireplace and kitchenette. There was also a table that held a little box, a card and a box of Cheez-Its, their favorite snack. They sat on the sofa and he pulled her ring box out of his pocket. "What's that," she asked. She opened it and saw the gray diamond. "Oh, my God," she said. But she didn't want to assume it was an engagement ring because he had been so adamant that he wasn't proposing. "Are you asking me to marry you," she said. "Yeah," he said. "Then, OK. Yes." She didn't see it coming, but in hindsight, it was obvious, she said.

THE CEREMONY: They married on The Rainbow Ranch in Big Sky, Montana, on Sept. 9, 2018. It was just the two of them. After they got engaged, they decided they wanted to get married quickly, and that they didn't want a conventional wedding they'd still be paying for until they were in their 50s. Their family was disappointed at first, but came around after they promised to have a big party. They first thought of a simple courthouse wedding, and started googling pretty courthouses. That rabbit hole ended at the Missoula, Montana, courthouse, which is beautiful. Along the way, though, they noticed that some of the ranches had elopement packages. "We wanted to be somewhere beautiful and wild that would bring a sense of adventure to the wedding," Emily said. Their wedding official worked with them to create the ceremony and vows. "The whole event was very loose and relaxed," Emily said. "We were able to be ourselves and be completely present in the moment." 

THE DRESS: Emily's simple sheath gown from BHLDN (pronounced Beholden) in Philadelphia featured a plunging neckline with spaghetti straps and a small train. She added pizzazz with a vintage beaded shawl she had bought in California about seven years earlier. 

She was over dating. Then she looked up and saw him.

SOMETHING OLD: A handkerchief that had belonged to a great-grandmother on her mother's side.

SOMETHING NEW: Her shoes, earrings and dress.

SOMETHING BORROWED: The handkerchief

SOMETHING BLUE: The handkerchief 

RECEPTION: The bride and groom returned to their hotel room, where they called family and friends and sent photos. Friends surprised them by sending champagne, flowers and food. The couple had dinner that night at the ranch’s restaurant. The party animals were asleep by 10 p.m.

MOST SENTIMENTAL GIFTS: For Emily, it was a portable blue Bose speaker that Pat gave her before the wedding. It was her favorite color and to Emily it signaled his support of her plans to teach yoga "and his way of saying he believes in what I’m doing and who I am." For Pat, it was a stack of letters that Emily had arranged for his family to write. He read them while she was dressing. It was touching and bittersweet to read them, he said, and it made him want to hug them all.

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THE HONEYMOON: They started the honeymoon at a Lake Street Dive concert in Bozeman, Montana, where Pat arranged for the band to give them a shout out on their marriage. They rented an RV in Livingston, Montana, to drive to Yellowstone and then spent four days camping around Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. They hiked, swam and looked at the wild animals and weird volcanic things. They finished where they started – a suite at the Murray Hotel in Livingston. 

THE FAMILY TREE: The bride is the daughter of Eileen Clark of Wilmington and Cindy and Dr. Tom Mannis of Sarasota, Florida. The groom is the son of Sheila and Dana Dougherty of Bluffton, South Carolina, formerly of Camden.

WHAT'S NEXT: The newlyweds are living in the same Bellefonte apartment that Emily had moved into shortly before she met Patrick online. They share it with two cats, PuppyBear and Lulu. A Wilmington native, Emily attended Brandywine High School and studied psychology at the University of Delaware. She's a yoga instructor, which she gravitated toward for healing. Her back will always bother her some, but won't stop her from being a singer, cat lover, outdoorsy type and coffee maniac. Pat continues to manage the operations of Heirloom, where he's studying to become a financial advisor. He grew up in Dover, attended Caesar Rodney High School and then Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied music production and engineering. He spent his 20s traveling the country in different bands. By his early 30s, he was working in advertising in both New York City and Los Angeles. Yes, he deadpans, it was all the perfect background for the finance he's doing now. He is a coffee maniac like his wife and proud cat stepdad. The couple plans to adopt more animals and hope to own their home someday, but they're in no rush. Their wedding party is set for May.

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