It was Fall 2013, Ricky's senior year, and Henriette's Junior year. Henriette had transferred from East Highschool to Harbor City International to become more involved in the arts. Ricky had transferred from Wayzata High School to Harbor City, going from a class size of roughly 1000 to 30. Henriette was eager to meet some new friends at her new school, she had met a good handful of new pals over the summer, but of course, there were more to be made. There was one person in particular that she was determined to become friends with; someone she had been told: "doesn't like very many people". Because why wouldn't you want to be a part of that very elite group of people that person ACTUALLY likes?! (If you haven't guessed by now, that person was Ricky.) One of their first interactions was in the computer lab. Henriette ran into her friend Eric, (who still happens to be Ricky's best friend) and the mythical Ricky Blade. The memories blur, but Henriette ended up drawing portraits of each of them on their hands, as well as her own. Ricky and Henriette just happened to have a class together, in which they were assigned to sit next to each other. The perfect situation. Henriette's initial tactic in becoming friends with "the-guy-who-doesn't-like-many-people" was to just be as annoying as possible, basically. She would draw on his papers, play with his pencils, and ask him every question she could think of. Ricky was a man of few words, for the most part, so Henriette didn't really know if he liked her or not, but she continued anyway. (He liked her) The stories we could tell would far exceed the 4000-word limit on this page, so to summarize, over the course of the next years the two became great friends and would go on many spontaneous adventures together; whether it be to pet cats at the animal shelter, buy a toaster at midnight or just go for a drive it was always easy to spend time together. When Henriette was backpacking through Europe after graduation, she knew she always had a friend to reach out to. She even bought him a model Porsche 911 Carrera (his favorite) from the Porsche museum in Germany. It was Fall 2015, and Henriette had come back from her trip. Henriette was working as a princess performer for Pretty Princess Parties and often would make trips to Minneapolis. Not liking to drive alone (or drive in general) Henriette would usually ask Ricky to come down with her, and he would. Throughout the next few months, they would discover that their friendship was becoming something much greater. They *officially* started dating on March 27th, 2016. In May of 2016, the two would go on their first trip together. They booked their plane tickets a month prior while the two were each on a family trip; Henriette in San Diego with her sister and dad and Ricky at Disney World with his mom, stepdad, and brother. They spent time in Colorado and California and learned that they were perfect travel companions. Fast forward to Summer 2017, Ricky's first time in Norway. The two stayed with Henriette's family for the month of May and part of June. They had an incredible time hiking mountains, fishing in the fjords, discovering the true love of Rullekebab, and more. On June 1st, Ricky decided the day had come to propose. Ricky had asked Henriette if they could go into town, without anyone else, and have a date day. On their walk to the bus station, an extremely nervous Ricky took off his jacket and gave it to Henriette for her to hold. He almost instantly realized that the ring box was in the pocket of that jacket and the nerves went into overdrive. The two walked around downtown Bergen and found a spot to sit by the iconic fountain backdropped by the beautiful mountainscape. Ricky reached into his pocket and pulled out the most beautiful gold sapphire ring and asked Henriette to marry him. She of course said yes. They celebrated the rest of the day by visiting the art museum, having dinner, and sharing a cigar.

Much like their story, Ricky and Henriette have had a very non-traditional relationship. They have lived together before they were *official*, adopted their first cat together the summer of their first year together, and lived their life the way any other married couple would live. They believed that they didn't need to rush to put a different title on their relationship to prove their love. Henriette would often say that she "wanted to feel like a real adult" before they have a wedding. Ricky would put emphasis on one or both of them being done with their college degree first. Together, they would just continue to grow and evolve, learning more about each other as each year passed. Their love of travel also influenced their decision to wait for the perfect time to celebrate their wedding! Ricky and Henriette have been so lucky to have gone on many trips over the years. They have now been to Norway and Washington D.C. together twice, Greece, New York, Arizona, Colorado, and California. Ricky and Henriette are beyond excited to celebrate their wedding with you all!