Eric and Heather met online and chatted for a week or two before officially meeting for their first date. Their conversations revolved around their love of beer and breweries, so it made sense for their first date to be at Barley Forge, a brewery in Costa Mesa. It was loud and there were a bunch of people enjoying the last of the summer heat, but they were in their own world chatting away for hours.

Even though Eric and Heather had only been dating 3 months, they knew they were right for each other so it wasn't awkward planning their first holiday together. Eric was a good sport about meeting her sister Katie (maid of honor), and sister's best friend Other Katie (bridesmaid) and the rest of Other Katie's family. They spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with them, and survived the drive to and from Beaumont while learning that they cannot play the license plate game together. Heather's lucky enough to have multiple families that have been there for her after her mother's passing; Eric's not so lucky in that he's had to impress all of them!

Heather and Eric talked about the important stuff early on in their relationship - life plans, career, kids, money. They agreed on all the hard decisions and had a general idea of what they wanted for the future. They alternated between their condos, spending most of their time at Heather's to care for the dog (Squish) and cat (Autumn). Eric moved in and, although there was a period of adjustment, they survived! After living together for a few months they starting talking less about the future in distant, vague terms and more about the details. The words wedding and marriage were spoken and started a countdown of "when are we getting engaged?" They decided to go ring shopping together because Heather declared that Eric couldn't propose without a ring. They searched the mall but nothing was right. Eric doesn't necessarily enjoy shopping, but he managed to put a positive spin on the whole experience. They walked away without a ring, but Heather immediately started the search online while Eric napped. He woke up and Heather declared that they weren't getting married because she couldn't find anything she loved. Eric calmed her down and redirected her search to a few other sites and they found it: her ring. It's perfect and everything Heather could have ever wanted. Eric turned to Heather and said "We have the ring?" "Yes, we have the ring" she replied. "Will you marry me?" He popped the question right there and then! It was just the two of them, plus the dog and cat, and it was perfect. They were in their own world and they chose each other, like they will continue to do for the rest of their lives.