Nikki and Dan met on the dating app Hinge in 2019. At the time, Nikki was living in Conshohocken and Dan was living in South Philly. Connecting on the app made an almost impossible connection a reality for them. After a few days of chatting back and forth, Nikki texts Dan "so, should we rip off this band-aid?", which was her attempt at setting up a first date the next day before Dan left Philly for the weekend. They decided on Fond, a nice bar off of Passyunk Square would be perfect for their first date, and it was. As Dan arrived early (shocker) to wait in the square for Nikki's arrival a woman began to approach him wearing her finest Eagles jersey and leggings. "Oh no" Dan thought to himself, there is no way that is Nikki. To Dan's happiness, this was in fact not Nikki. A few moments later Nikki walked around the corner approaching the square wearing a sundress made for the late-August evening. They sat at the bar at Fond and began their introductions, laughing and enjoying the start of a perfect evening. Dan was all set to order 2 glasses of wine for the pair until Nikki suggested "why don't we just get a bottle?". Dan would later discover Nikki went to the restroom to text her sister, Gabbie, about how she incorrectly did the math on the cost of 2 glasses of wine vs. a bottle and was embarrassed. Nikki would later discover that ordering a bottle of wine was never an issue for Dan. As the night continued the couple would enjoy another stop at ITV just down Passyunk Avenue, the laughs, drinks, connection, and chemistry continued. As the night was coming to a close, Dan was preparing for a trip to New England the next morning and Nikki's final day at her job before starting at UBC the next week. Over the long Labor Day weekend the couple couldn't keep from texting...what they were up to, where they were going, how much they wanted to see each other again. The conversation culminated with a long drive back to Philly from New England for Dan, and what felt like 10,000 texts exchanged while they planned their next date together. Later that week Dan visited Conshy, Nikki came back to the city and some would say...the rest is history.

During the pandemic Nikki and Dan became members at Longwood Gardens, a beautiful botanical garden south of Philadelphia. This was their way of escaping the chaos in the city and enjoy each other's company. After their first few visits to Longwood it quickly became a sanctuary for the couple. Longwood was a place where they could get some fresh air surrounded by the beauty of nature. Some visits lasted 30 minutes, others hours, but it remained a place for Nikki and Dan to connect and fall deeper in love. There was even a point in time when Nikki and Dan spent a few hours waiting in line to see the rare Corpse Flower that Longwood was showcasing. To them, it was just another opportunity to be together and grow closer. When Dan began thinking of proposing and what was most special to him and Nikki, Longwood was an obvious choice. With the help of close friends Justin (Skaggs) and Tina, Dan was able to plan the perfect surprise for Nikki. Skaggs and Tina had arrived earlier to Longwood and got in position (provided by Dan from a map he gave Skaggs) to take photos of the event. As Dan and Nikki approached the hidden waterfall Nikki was more surprised by Dan's ask to 'take a nice photo together' than anything else. As they asked an unsuspecting visitor nearby to snap a photo, Dan got on one knee to ask Nikki to marry him. The couple would love to say they remember what each other said to one another but both admit it was like a 'total blackout from emotion'. The most important part was that Nikki said 'Yes!'. Skaggs and Tina popped out of the bushes 'Surprise!' and captured the moment perfectly. The couple took a few more photos as they walked to the restaurant at Longwood where Dan had set up a perfect snack and glasses of Champagne to celebrate. Later that evening Nikki and Dan had drinks, dinner, and more sparkling to celebrate their engagement.