We're getting married!

Our love story started when we both swiped right. Who would have thought that just another swipe would have led to THIS?! Our first date was drinks at Iron Horse in Royal Oak, followed by a stint in the Escape Room (where our dismal performance luckily did not foreshadow what was to come). Halfway through our dinner at Hopcat, I had checked off around 8 things on my mental "he's a keeper" checklist (of course) and Mark had asked me out for our second date. The rest is history...Thanks Bumble!

I rushed home from work to get ready for dinner with Mark, my sister, & my brother-in-law at Iron Horse. I thought the point of dinner was to join them for a parents night out! I came downstairs, trying to tidy up before they arrived. I saw Jason Mraz was paused on Spotify and I was like "why is this not playing?!" Little did I know, I was interrupting the grand plan. Mark then pressed play on my favorite song and presented me with the "Love Book" he made for me showcasing our love story with Mark & Erica cartoon characters (see Photos page for a sample). Around halfway through I was like "HOLY CRAP" and focused my hardest to keep turning the pages. The final page was little cartoon Mark on one knee with a diamond ring. I turned around and there was my Mark doing the same. I couldn't say yes fast enough!

Our “Dream Wedding”… Right after we got engaged, we saw it: getting married in a beautiful destination beach wedding surrounded by our closest family and friends. We got to planning. We found our dream venue & wedding planner in Islamorada, Florida. We had never been to the keys before but knew it would be a perfect place to start our next chapter. Then came COVID. We kept planning, picking out the perfect DJ, photographer, and other vendors. All along, we were hoping that COVID would go away and that all would be fine by February 2021. Fast forward to July. We made the painful decision to cancel our dream wedding. The health and safety of our family and friends (and our mental sanity over debating cancelling over the next few months) took precedence over our dream. And then we brainstormed. We adjusted our vision and got to thinking about what was most important. Now: our Dream Wedding, Version 2.0. We are so excited to be getting married in my sister’s backyard surrounded by our immediate family and friends. In a “that’s so 2020” twist, we will be live-streaming our ceremony via Zoom so the rest of our family & friends can join us in our celebration. We get to become HUSBAND & WIFE much sooner than anticipated and could not possibly be happier. Thank you everyone for your love, support, and “f*ck covid”s along the way. We cannot wait to celebrate our love with you on August 30, 2020, whether you are in person or virtual. xx Erica & Mark