We're getting married!

Erik had just moved from Iowa with John Deere to work at GM in Detroit. Familiar with the social circles, his friend Gregg Kent offered to show him around and make some friends. Gregg suggested that Erik join him and a few work colleagues at the Detroit Zoo Brew. You see, there was a cute girl they knew through the real estate industry, and Erik should take the opportunity to meet her in a group setting. On the night of Zoo Brew, Erik was introduced to Gregg’s friend, who had also brought a friend of her own, a beautiful woman named Amanda Wade. After striking up fun, though brief, conversation with Amanda, Erik knew the real pursuit of the night would be the interests of this mystery guest. As the night came to a close and Amanda got ready to leave, in panic and excitement Erik raced through the courtyard and shouted her name from across the fountain. Unaware of his interest in her, Amanda confusingly looked at the man running through the Detroit Zoo yelling. He explained he simply would like to give her a call sometime because of the night they shared. Of course, as many relationships go, the first attempt did not pan out in their favor. Over the next 5 years, Erik continued to hit refresh on Facebook, waiting for his opportunity to ask her out again. As time went on, Erik slowly began to lose hope. Amanda Wade would probably forever be the-one-that-got-away. Finally, in May of 2020, during a pandemic of epic proportions and with a job he knew was supposed to take him across the country, Erik discovered she was, in fact, single. Following some rather obvious Instagram messages and a few thoughts from Amanda of “Will this guy just admit he wants to ask me out again?”, Erik was able to get her a scoop of ice cream from Clark’s. They sat on her patio discussing how things were and her surprise that Erik approached her for an afternoon together. As Erik headed home, he knew he would have to rope her in this time for good. And the rest, as they say, is history.

After long conversations discussing the future and how to navigate distance in a relationship, Erik knew he was going to ask Amanda to be his wife. The real issue was… when? Erik and Amanda had planned a trip to Hawaii for NYE 2020. The relationship would only be 7 months old, but that didn’t matter. Erik made sure he knew what the requirements were before he could propose. “Poppi and Max need to approve. That’s really it.” The plan was to spend Christmas in Detroit then straight to Hawaii. So, Erik had some careful planning to do. He needed to surprise Amanda without giving anything away. He was sure she would see it coming. The first day in Honolulu, Erik suggested the jetlag would give a great chance at sunrise mimosas on the beach. Amanda was excited at the thought of such a romantic start to the vacation, and when the morning came, while she was getting ready for the excursion, Erik quietly placed a small box in his pocket. To his amazement, she had no idea. They placed their blankets on the sand while Erik poured two mimosas and started his way down to the water. “It’s really warm! Come dip your toes in.” She slowly got up and let the water run over her toes. Distracted by a small crab in the sand, she began taking pictures and waiting for it to pop out of its hole. This was one of few things for which Erik did not plan. Slightly annoyed, he took her hand, laughed, and said, “Leave the crab alone”. Then with Amanda in his arms, Erik began to tell her all the ways in which he loved her, and that those statements were the exact things he had said to her family when he asked them for her hand. She stood there in complete disbelief and Erik pulled out a small box with a ring inside. Amanda cried asking, “Is this for real?” And after hearing the single greatest question the English language has ever assembled for a man to ask a woman, Amanda replied “Of course!”.