It was the Friday night of homecoming weekend in Gainesville. Downtown was packed. John had a rare “golden” weekend off from the med school grind. Erin had friends visiting from out of town to whom she had promised a fun girl’s night out. Eventually, each found their way to the third floor of the classiest of establishments: Barcade. John was focused on a Lakers game while Erin was dancing with her friends. But during a commercial break, Erin’s blue eyes met John’s smile. At the end of the evening, John accompanied Erin and her friends to a nearby burger joint. Numbers were exchanged for a future coffee date & the rest is history!

John selected the proposal date months in advance, the Saturday the Gators came to play Mizzou. He picked the sweetest, grassy patch hidden at the top of a hilly hike to propose. The sky was a perfect November blue. The air was crisp. Erin's family and John's parents flew to Columbia, MO, to make the moment even more special, and Erin nearly had a heart attack when they leapt from the woods with a post-proposal "SUPRISE!" On that day, Erin gave the easiest "yes" she's ever said.