Erica and Ricky first knew of each other back in middle school, but became friends in high school through involvement in band and theater tech. Being the little nerds they were, they found themselves staying up late chatting online with each other while playing Runescape. Shortly after Ricky graduated from Southern, he and Erica went on their first solo hangout to see the movie Brave. About a week later on July 10, 2012, Ricky asked Erica out and they officially started dating. They had a fantastic summer, baking (and burning) cookies, going to movies, watching the Summer Olympics, and their favorite activity, hanging out in parking lots, where they would just talk for hours and would occasionally make trips to Giant to gets supplies to make peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Erica and Ricky then proceeded to spend the next five years semi-long distance with Ricky going to University of Maryland and Erica finishing her senior year of high school and attending University of Delaware. They saw each other as often as they could with Ricky often coming to attend football games and Erica's sorority dances and hitting up their favorite food joints - Melt Down, No.1 Chinese, and Mad Macs. After Erica graduated in 2017, they decided to move in together down to Charlottesville, VA, for Erica's Ph.D. program at UVa. In October of 2020, Erica and Ricky adopted their spunky little pup and favorite third wheel, Clover. Their favorite activities included going for hikes at Shenandoah NP and taking him to the local dog parks. In 2022, Erica and Ricky moved back to Maryland to be closer to friends and family. About a year later, on July 9, 2023 on a cabin trip to their beloved Blue Ridge Mountains, Ricky proposed to Erica at Sherando Lake and she said yes with a wagging Clover in the background. It's been an amazing 12+ years and we can't wait to celebrate with all of you!