We connected by our shared love for humanity. Eric was doing a presentation for his job, Recovery Network of Programs, at a conference (shoutout to John Hamilton & CCAR, we love you!). Ally was invited to join the presentation while being an attendee at the conference (if you know Ally, you know her public speaking!). Little did we know that one day we would be much more than co-presenters. Ally thought for sure that stigma would prevent connection, but in reality, it planted a seed of a lifelong bond.

We reconnected in July 2019 when Ally was hired by Recovery Network of Programs (the same agency that we first met!). Eric was presenting on part of the training and before his arrival, his co workers were singing his praises. The way everyone’s eyes would light up while talking about him made Ally wonder who this Eric guy was! She liked his ability to captivate a room with humor, while still delivering an important message. After Eric finished his presentation, he immediately sat next to Ally and eagerly greeted her. She couldn't remember where they had known each other, but Eric quickly refreshed her memory and it all came back full circle. Ally was a guest speaker at a community event and was pleasantly surprised to see Eric in the audience. Connected again by our love for humanity, we stayed in touch and grew our bond. Ally had shown up to our job’s community softball tournament where Eric was playing, and she casually said to him, ‘hit some home runs for me!’… Eric hit 3 home runs that game, but the most biggest home run was asking Ally to be his girlfriend on 10/13/2019!

After a canceled annual trip to Narragansett, RI, we made a last-minute decision to do a quick trip to Port Jefferson, NY. We took the ferry over, did some shopping, and checked into our hotel. The day before and that morning of, everything that could have went wrong, went wrong. However, we were determined to make the best of every scenario. Before our dinner reservation, we decided to take a stroll at the beach visible to our hotel balcony. As we went walking along, Ally got distracted (surprise, surprise) by a white feather. Earlier in the day, she had read about white feathers being a sign from loved ones who passed. She had felt her grandmother’s energy throughout the day and was mesmerized by the feather she stumbled upon, especially after reading all about it just hours ago. This was the perfect moment for Eric to set up his phone to record, get the ring out, and get down on one knee. You can catch the proposal video in the gallery!