On a rainy, chilly spring evening in 2016, two people connected online to what would become a nearly six-year journey to Jessica and Eric’s wedding day. After talking for several weeks online, building trust and friendship, Jessica and Eric decided to meet. Jessica did not want the first date to be a typical first date (you know…that same old dinner and a movie routine), so they agreed to meet for lunch the Saturday before Memorial Day at a place called BJ’s Brewhouse. They sat, they talked, they ate, they drank, and they laughed. Then not wanting to depart company, Jessica and Eric tried to think of something else to do…but what could two young people do? With all the potential possibilities, these two budding lovers decided to…go to the mall! This would be the first of many trips to the mall they would take over their courtship. After leaving the mall the two decided to succumb to social norms and go see a movie. Luckily, they had similar tastes in movies, and they decided to see ‘X-Men Apocalypse’. Afterwards…late in the evening, Eric told Jessica that he had plans to hike the long trail at Germantown Metro Park the next day and he offered for Jessica to join him. The two made plans to meet up again the next day for a hike in the woods. Early Sunday morning, Jessica met Eric at Germantown Metro Park where the two set off on their four-hour journey. The path was fraught with struggles and obstacles, but the two overcame those and completed their voyage. That was the first of many weekends that Eric and Jessica would spend together.

One early morning on the 25th of May 2020, during the year of the pandemic, Eric and Jessica were sitting on their couch watching the morning news when Jessica started to tell Eric about a dream she had about a ring. Eric, who unbeknownst to Jessica had purchased an engagement ring the previous December, asked Jessica if she would marry him. He showed Jessica where he had hidden the ring right in plain sight. Eric took out the ring, got down on one knee, and asked Jessica to marry him. She instantly said, “Yes!” And then hit Eric for hiding the ring right in front of her for five months. Eric and Jessica, after much debate and with the timing of the pandemic decided on a May 2022 wedding. From that point on they began to plan their wedding.