We met through the benevolence of chance at the Rumba Cafe in Columbus, Ohio, in the summer of 2012. We both went to Rumba to see the Hoodoo Soul Band play their weekly Sunday Night set--a Columbus staple. Dan was there for the music, and Erica was there to shake off a busy weekend of waitressing with her server friends on the dance floor. Erica approached Dan at the bar with a bad joke (but he laughed!) and the rest is history. Since then, we've been through multiple moves and many momentous life changes, including three new degrees and a new job (for Erica), ten new albums (for Dan), new hobbies (gardening, surfing, pickleball, snowboarding), and lots of adventures. Since that first night at Rumba Cafe, the constants in our relationship are hours of conversation, relentless teasing, and constant laughter. We got engaged at the beach in Nosara, Costa Rica, in January 2025 and then spent the week surfing and eating breakfast burritos. We married in a small ceremony in the Santa Barbara Courthouse at noon on June 7th, 2025. We have been counting down the days to bring our families and friends together to celebrate!