During the peak of the Pokémon GO! craze, a group of strangers gathered for a Pokémon raid battle outside a downtown Grand Rapids church. Danielle approached Nathan and asked, “Do you know where everyone is headed for the next battle?” He responded by pulling up a special map on his phone that showed all the Pokémon raid locations nearby. They followed each other around Grand Rapids, raid by raid. At the end of the night, they went their separate ways, not knowing each others’ names or if they’d ever meet again. A couple of days later, Nathan noticed Danielle at another downtown Grand Rapids Pokémon raid. This time when he approached her, he was sure to ask for her name and to exchange phone numbers. Little did either of them know, they’d become Pokémon partners for life!

Nathan asked Danielle to schedule time off from work for a “secret” road trip that he planned for her 27th birthday. Thankfully she had her passport ready, because they were headed through Canada to visit Niagara Falls! After breakfast on the first day in Niagara, Danielle and Nathan took a walk down to the falls. Danielle was so intrigued by the ferry boats that she didn’t notice Nathan’s eyes skimming the crowds. Nathan suddenly stopped walking, got down on one knee and asked, “will you marry me?” After Danielle had said “yes!” Nathan pointed and told her to “look over there.” On queue, two old ladies with cameras popped out of the bushes. Danielle was so stunned she didn’t realize they were her two best friends, Sara and Robyn, until they began removing their old lady disguises! (Sara wore her grandma’s actual wig!) From there, Danielle, her new fiancé Nathan, and her two best friends spent a fun-filled weekend in Niagara Falls! They took a ferry ride up to Horseshoe Falls, toured the caves behind them, and ended the evening with dinner at the top of Skylon Tower that overlooks the waterfalls. At the end of the weekend, Sara and Robyn returned home while Danielle and Nathan continued their road trip on through the state of New York and up to Portland, Maine. There, they relaxed, indulged in some great sea food, and went on a whale watching tour. On their way back, Danielle and Nathan cut through Scranton, Pennsylvania where they visited some notable locations from the TV series The Office including Poor Richard’s Pub and the Scranton Welcome sign. Of course once they got home, they had to watch Jim and Pam’s Niagara Falls wedding episode! “The boat was actually Plan C, the church was Plan B, and Plan A was marrying her a long, long time ago. Pretty much the day I met her.” - Jim Halpert Nathan’s proposal was one to remember!