Danny and Erin both attended a Cru Summer Mission in Ocean City, Maryland the summer of 2019. On the very first night the whole group went to the beach to play games. Danny and Erin became partners for a game of spike ball, which is where their ship name "Derin" came into existence. Jokingly, everyone referred to them as that. They started to pass the football around and Danny quickly thought "wow, this girl is really coordinated and athletic" and Erin thought, "this kid is so funny and fun to be around". Their relationship quickly blossomed with many talks at the dock about their intentions and what the relationship would look like with living over 200 miles away. With much prayer and guidance from The Lord, they decided to begin a relationship and started dating a few weeks into the mission. Since the end of mission, Danny and Erin have been dating (and engaged) distantly, and are ready for distance to be no more.

On family vacation, Erin and Danny went on a date night. The night consisted of walking along Asbury Ave in OCNJ, going to her favorite restaurant, John and Patty's, getting dessert, shopping, and a walk on the beach. Little did Erin know, Danny was carrying a ring in his pocket the entire time. After walking along Asbury, Danny and Erin headed to the boardwalk (potty break). Danny took an abnormally long time in the bathroom (if you know Danny, this is REALLY weird). In reality, Danny was coordinating with people about the proposal. When Danny was done stalling, they walked down to the beach and walked about a block or so before Danny stopped walking, pulled Erin in closer and dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. After she said, YES!! Danny had Erin turn around and hiding in the lifeguard stand were her parents, grandparents, and two of her good friends. With eyes full of tears, Erin got to hug some of the people closest to her after her best friend asked her to marry him.