It was the college years… Erin was attending school at Cal State Fullerton and had made friends with a few people who, behind the scenes, had grown up with Paul and remained friends through the years. During this time, Paul was pursuing his own education, attending college at USC. It wasn’t until July 2011 that their paths finally crossed when they both attended a surprise party for a mutual friend in Newport Beach. There was an instant attraction from both parties. Paul even went as far as to tell his friend he calls "dibs" on the girl in the orange shirt when Erin walked in. And who said chivalry is dead? Throughout the night, they began talking and wondered how they hadn’t met sooner being that their paths had crossed numerous times in the past. Over the next couple of months, Erin and Paul went on a couple of dates but timing just wasn’t right. Erin had moved back to San Diego after graduation and Paul was living in Newport Beach. It wasn’t until the following January that Erin moved back up to Orange County to start her new career in nursing. Living in Costa Mesa, she and Paul started dating again. This time for good! Over the course of their relationship, they have maintained their separate living arrangements but after 7 years, a wedding proposal and perfect timing, they are finally uniting as one. They like to joke that they are the slowest moving couple. After all, they will have been engaged 20 months by the time they get married in December!

For many years Erin had been eager to visit Germany and Austria so what better time than to celebrate her 30th birthday? She spent weeks researching and planning a trip to Europe, just the two of them. On the itinerary were London, Munich, and Vienna. The trip was going great and on the 5th day they visited Nymphenburg Palace in Munich. They had spent most of the afternoon touring the palace when Paul, to Erin’s surprise, suggested they take a walk through the massive gardens. It was getting late and they had already spent the whole morning at the BMW museum and factory so Erin figured Paul was ready to be done with sightseeing. Without hesitation, Erin took Paul up on his suggestion. At this time, Paul was looking at a map of the grounds and suggested they keep walking to a small lake deep in the back of the gardens. When they finally came to a secluded bench by the lake, Erin got out her snacks and started taking pictures of ducks. Paul began telling Erin how much he loved her and when his tone became more serious, her attention was caught. The next thing Erin knew, Paul was pulling out a small box from his backpack and asked her to marry him! If you ask Erin, she thinks she blacked out due to the shock of everything in that moment. She had a million questions running through her mind… Did he tell my parents? How does he know my ring size? How has he been carrying around a ring for 5 days and been able to maintain himself? How did he pull all this off without me suspecting anything? Of course, when Erin was able to compose herself, she said YES! Once Paul received his confirmation, he answered all Erin’s questions. He had been planning the big secret all along with their families. He was even able to get Erin’s grandma to covertly find out her ring size so she wouldn't suspect anything. During the remainder of their vacation they were on cloud nine. They couldn't have asked for a more perfect memory to initiate the start of many to come during a lifetime together!