Chris here,

After trying online dating for a while beforehand with not so great results, I can’t believe that I finally found my true love and best friend! I came across Erika’s page and immediately was drawn to her beautiful smile. I liked and commented on a picture of her and her grandmother and told her that I would love to get to know her more. A short time later I received a response and within a few days we exchanged numbers. Our first date happened at Cold Stone Creamery after she denied my dinner invitation, not knowing if she would want to talk to me for that long. Little did she know we would spend hours sitting outside that ice cream shop. I immediately felt comfortable with her and when she commented on my shoes as well as my car in the parking lot, I knew this girl was special.

We began dating and enjoying all that we could during the cold winter months. One of my favorite memories with her is going to the Jack Frost Pop Up, to this day it is still my favorite date. We were taking some pictures and she paused and did a little shimmy back and forth to decide which side was her best side! I fell for her at that moment and never looked back. I have never met a more kind, supportive, honest and beautiful soul in my life. I tell her everyday that the only thing more beautiful than her physical appearance is her heart. She has shown me more love than I ever could have dreamed of. She goes out of her way to take an interest in the things I like and remembers the smallest details about me. I swear she knows me better than I know myself at times! I have the absolute best time with her no matter if we are lounging on the couch enjoying our favorite shows or driving us around to every farmer’s market and bakery she finds on social media. She truly is my best friend and the love of my life!

The Proposal

When thinking of how to propose I struggled initially because I knew that she wanted something private and I wanted to surprise her as best that I could. One day we were talking about the museums and our favorite ones to visit. We both shared a love for the Shedd Aquarium. I had known of a fact that penguins only have one mate for their entire lives and spend a long time searching for the perfect pebble to present their partner to signify their bond. So it popped into my head that it would be a great way to propose. I contacted the Shedd Aquarium and set up a private penguin experience for the two of us around our anniversary. After having the ring hidden in our apartment for a few weeks it was finally time! I was so nervous the whole morning as I just wanted everything to go perfectly. I am glad to say that it went off without a hitch. The penguin trainer had coordinated with me and said that “Penguins mate for life” while our penguin friends Mercedes and Fitz were in the room and that was my queue to get down on one knee and ask my best friend to not only be that but be my wife for the rest of my life. With both of us being so emotional we cried and kissed as she said yes and here we are! I can’t wait to celebrate our love and friendship with everyone at our upcoming wedding in July!

Wedding Day