It was August 18th, 2014 - Nicole and Erik's first day of senior year at Vanderbilt University. More importantly, it was trivia night at Flying Saucer, an exclusive "seniors only" event. While close friends had boasted about both Erik and Nicole to the opposite party, life had other plans up until that night. Studying abroad in Australia, playing SEC football, pursuing internships, and focusing on academics had previously taken priority. With all of the excitement of being back in Nashville exploding from the bar that evening, Nicole and Erik locked eyes and finally started a long overdue conversation. At that moment, they decided to "hang out" forever.

Nicole lived in New York City for five years. While Erik couldn't claim residency, he may as well have done so given the amount of time he spent in the city. For Nicole, New York was always magic. It was the place where she became the woman she is today. While moving to Los Angeles was bittersweet, both Nicole and Erik knew they would remain connected to New York forever. It was President's Day Weekend 2022 and Erik had a surprise trip planned for Nicole. A few months earlier, Erik warned Nicole, "If anything seems weird, it probably is, so please do not look into it." After throwing a few curveballs to keep Nicole guessing, Erik and Nicole showed up at LAX early Friday morning. The only information Nicole had was that she did not need her ski clothes or her passport. With two gates remaining at the end of the terminal, one to Phoenix and the other to New York, Nicole realized they were off to her favorite city. Upon arriving in New York, Erik had every single second planned and his thoughtfulness burst through each activity. The weekend started with dinner at one of their local neighborhood favorites, Dante, and ended with tickets to Hamilton, a New York bucket list item that they never tackled before COVID. Saturday began with brunch in their old stomping grounds of SoHo. After changing for the evening at 3pm, Erik and Nicole wandered through lower Manhattan until they arrived in Washington Square Park. Erik asked Nicole what her three favorite New York memories were. Nicole was perplexed: three memories from five years?! After sharing her most memorable moments, Nicole returned the question to Erik. As they strolled through the park on a gorgeous, abnormally sunny winter afternoon, Erik answered in reverse order: 3,2, and 1. As he got to #1, they were standing in front of the infamous arch in the park. Erik said, "And this is my favorite" as he dropped to one knee and asked Nicole to marry him! The entire park erupted, cheering for the happy couple - a quintessential New York moment. After some tears and babbling, Nicole realized she needed to respond. The answer was obviously yes. As the engaged couple took a few photos in the park, a squall ripped through and turned the sunny blue skies into a winter wonderland. Another perfect New York moment. They facetimed their families and continued on with the day of thoughtful surprises, revisiting their favorites including McSorley's, Lilia, Canary Club, Joseph Leonard, Central Park, and Quality Meats to name a few. Family and friends arrived from near and far, all surprises meticulously orchestrated by Erik. It was a magical weekend full of love and the perfect way to start their next chapter as an engaged couple.