It’s no secret that Erika fell in love with Bert’s adorable dogs long before he won her over! Bert sharpens scissors for the salon above Erika’s store Stock&Belle. He would come in every couple of weeks to work and would always peruse the store before he left. Fun Fact: Bert was quite shopaholic, and Erika got to know him pretty well during his shopping sprees. In fact, Bert was her #1 male customer for a while. She likes to tease him about how he just wanted the family discount. Bert eventually asked Erika out, but she kept him in the “friend zone” for quite some time. Their friendship consisted of lots of bike rides and dinners in which she insisted to pay for herself. Most dates ended with awkward goodnight side hugs, but as much as she tried to resist, Bert eventually won her over with his amazing cooking skills, ridiculous sense of humor, and most importantly, his huge HEART! It was impossible for her not to fall in love with him.

Bert proposed on March 3rd, 2022. They had just gotten back from a trip to Nashville where Erika took him to see one of his fav bands, ALT J. She had to work the next day and they had discussed having dinner at his house that evening after she got off. Little did she know that in those short 48 hours since they got back, Bert had met with her dad to ask for her hand. Bert had intended to ask her sometime over the next few months. However, in true Bert fashion, he decided he just couldn’t wait and asked her the next night! According to Erika, there were fresh flowers and an array of candles on the patio; Bert has quite a romantic side, so that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. He made an amazing chicken salad with a blood orange margarita mocktail. Erika sat in his seat, so he had to discreetly swap the glasses without her noticing. During their conversation, Erika commented how delicious the drink was. Another fun Bert fact: He has been known to make some mocktails that look pretty on the gram but taste like dirty bathwater! This one, however, was quite satisfying! As Erika took a sip and went to put her glass down, she thought she saw something. She did a double take but then set it back down. She was finally about half way through her drink when Bert decided his mocktail needed a little more soda water. She too decided to pour some into her cup and filled it back to the top! She was unaware that he had frozen her ring in a mint infused ice cube and it had just melted in her glass. Bert was desperately waiting for her to see it, and Erika had unknowingly just added more minutes back onto the clock with that pour! Poor Bert was getting anxious. To his luck, the dogs started fighting so Erika ran inside to break up the commotion; Bert seized the opportunity and chugged half of her drink. Erika returned to the table and went to take another sip but again something caught her eye. She laughed and said, “I keep thinking something is in my drink.” Bert earnestly replied with “Well...is there?!” Erika picked up the glass and this time she looked underneath to find her ring resting at the bottom! She was so stunned that she almost dropped the glass! Next thing she knew, Bert was down on one knee with tears in his eyes and asked her to be his wife! And of course.....she said YES!