We met in several classes at Muskingum University, and we even worked on projects together without realizing it until later. Fast forward to our senior year, and we were in the same Senior Seminar for our Business Major; we talked in and out of class for a few months. Then we got our puppies (Winston and Brutus) around the same time. Getting busy with having a puppy, we did not talk until two weeks before we left Muskingum for good! We reconnected in the last few weeks of school and fell in love. The rest is history.

Deric planned to surprise me with a proposal during our vacation at Ocean Isle Beach. On our first walk along the shore, I teased him about when he’d propose. To throw me off, he said he hadn’t asked my dad’s permission yet, so I stopped expecting it altogether. Even when he dropped small hints afterward, I missed them. Later, his family told me we were taking “family photos,” which was really a cover. While everyone else got ready, Deric suggested we head to the beach for individual pictures before the rain came. Still clueless, I walked with him until his sister Molly showed up with the camera. Once Deric spotted Molly, he got on one knee and asked me to marry him.