Erica and Rachel's love story began with a penguin and a puppy. You may be saying, "huh?" Here's how it all went down... it all started when Erica and Rachel downloaded Tinder with the same goal: to find their person. Someone who loves chocolate chip waffles on a Sunday morning, a long hike to the top of a mountain and belting songs from High School Musical. Someone who brings out the best in each other and can be goofy no matter what. It was love at first swipe. Erica started the conversation with a picture of a penguin waving "hello!". Rachel responded with a fluffy puppy saying "hi!". A few days later, they swapped phone numbers and started texting. And soon after that, they were talking over the phone and video chatting. There was no doubt that there was a connection!

After a month of chatting, they decided that it was finally time to go on their first real date. As two people who love adventures and the outdoors, they landed on a hike and picnic at Southford Falls State Park in Southbury, CT. They hopped out of their cars and the first thing that they noticed was that they were both wearing green flannels (I know, that's so shocking to those who always see us in matching clothing). Erica was first drawn to Rachel's bright blue eyes, while Rachel was focused on Erica's bouncy step when she walked. As they started walking to the trail, Erica's phone started ringing. It was her dad. He wanted to double check that she was indeed not meeting a serial killer in the middle of the woods. Erica ensured him that Rachel was not a killer. They walked to the waterfalls and then went on the trail and climbed the look out tower. Both were hiding how much they were out of breath on the way up to the tower. As they were nearing the end of their hike, they saw a bald eagle off in the distance. It was a rare sight. They took it as a sign from the universe that their connection was also very rare and special. They laid down their picnic blanket and opened up their bags. Erica pulled out sandwiches, clementines and carrots. Rachel pulled out drinks, a container of fudge brownies, and about 10 different kinds of single bagged chips. It started to get colder by the time they started eating and pretended that they weren't as cold as they actually were. There was a lot of food left over. The nerves seemed to get in the way of their appetites. They said their goodbyes with a hug and both walked to their cars. Rachel was ready to start her car when there was a knock at her window. Rachel rolled down her window and Erica was standing there. She said, "I forgot to give you something." "Did you write me a love letter?", Rachel said. Erica squatted below the window, then popped back up, then squatted again, and popped back up and then disappeared one more time before she mustered up the courage to pop back up and lean in for a kiss. On their wedding day, Erica and Rachel invite their friends and family to join them in the town where their love story all began.

After a few months of dating Rachel, Erica knew that she wanted to marry her. She wanted the proposal to be nothing short of magical. Erica found a lovely place called Wood Acres Farm in Terryville, CT. The magical moment would come in the form of a horse drawn carriage on a hopefully snowy afternoon. Erica had to concoct a story to keep the proposal hidden. She told Rachel that they were meeting some friends at the farm to go on a late Valentine's Day quadruple date. Erica even had one of her friends send a fake text with fake plans to keep Rachel off the scent. It had not snowed once that winter, but fate had other plans and the night before the proposal just enough snow fell to cover the ground. Once they got to Wood Acres, they met their lovely host Taylor whom was in on the plan too. Taylor offered a "tour" of the grounds while they waited for their friends to get there. She took them out to a wooden deck overlooking a pond. It was here that Erica got down on one knee and asked the question! Afterwards, Taylor took them into a barn where both of their families were awaiting them as a final surprise. Erica's mom had put a full spread of crackers, cheese, veggies and dips to begin the celebration. Shortly after, everyone bundled up and went on a carriage ride around the farm and neighborhood, with some champagne to accompany them. The day was perfect and they would not have had it any other way.

As someone who overthinks every single thing, Erica was never one of those things to Rachel. When she met Erica, Rachel knew that this was love. Rachel decided to propose to Erica on her family's annual trip to Ocean City, NJ. It seemed like the perfect place to propose, surrounded by her family and friends. Rachel shared the proposal plan with Erica's sister, Molly, a few months prior and tipped off Erica's parents the week before. It was a beautiful warm evening and nearing sunset. Go time. Rachel, who is exceptionally bad at lying, managed to channel her professional actress skills to convince Erica that she "needed help finding her sunglasses that she dropped on the beach earlier." Shovel in hand, Rachel and Erica walked toward the boardwalk and onto the beach. After poking around in the sand for a minute or so, Rachel grabbed Erica's hands and admitted that she did not lose her sunglasses on the beach. Rachel got down on one knee and popped the big question! From the beach, Rachel pointed out to Erica her family standing on the front deck of the beach house waving their arms and cheering in the distance. The next day, everyone was on the beach soaking up the sun. All of a sudden, a small plane flew over our heads with a banner saying, "E, will you marry me?" The plane continued to circle the beach another 20 times. Everyone looked around. There was no other proposal in sight! Rachel DID NOT hire the plane flyover. Now that's fate! Rachel and Erica spent the week after relaxing on the beach and celebrating while on vacation.