Erica and I first met while being a part of a wedding party of our close friends Sam & Nate. Even though we had a great time at the Bachelor/Bachelorette party and wedding, we both didn’t think much of each other. I believe this was because we were both seeing other people at the time, and because I was jumping back and forth between Las Vegas and North Dakota, while Erica lived in Denver. This all changed one night when I was flying to North Dakota. I was about to take off in Las Vegas, when I received a text message from the airline about my connecting flight in Denver had been canceled due to a severe storm in North Dakota. Instant panic mode set in, before I had a total meltdown, I remembered Erica and 2 other people that were in the wedding party lived in Denver. Immediately I contacted Nate for him to put out an SOS for me (I did mention that Erica was very cute and we did hit things off a bit, so if there was any way to have her help me, I’d be pretty excited). Well the plane took off before I heard any response and I was a nervous wreck the entire flight. However, upon my arrival my nerves were suppressed as I was greeted with a text from Nate saying “Looks like you got your wish! Erica will be picking you up when you land. Have fun buddy!” That night Erica took me back to her apartment, where we laughed and told stories until the early morning of the next day. I had a stand-by ticket in the morning and an actual ticketed seat later that evening. I didn’t end up making stand-by but Erica told me that we could go to dinner and then after she would take me back to the airport. Well while at dinner I received another text from the airline that my flight was canceled again and that I was on stand-by the next day. As a result of this, it led to Erica and I absolutely painting the entire town red! When either one of us came up with an idea for us to do something, the response was always “Yes! Let's do it!”. I never thought I could have so much fun with someone! This all led to me starting to realize that I was at a major crossroad in my life. I had long talks with God and myself on the right path to go on for my life. Eventually after being constantly stuck in Denver for 3.5 days, I accepted God’s plan for me (I can be a bit stubborn). I soon began to make monthly trips to see Erica and it then did not take me long to realize that I could not live the rest of my life without her! I have never been happier!

Wyatt proposed to me in our beautiful hotel room at Atlantis in the Bahamas. We had an amazing view from the the 2 balconies that our room had, that were on the very top floor. It was an incredible trip! Since there was not a picture of the engagement, Wyatt surprised me 1 year later on a frozen lake near Lake Superior by asking me to still marry him while presenting my wedding band. I said yes both times and I got a picture this time!

The ring is a collaboration of a family heirloom and a Heidi Gibson design. The center diamond was originally Wyatt’s Great Grandfather’s ring and has been in his family for over 100 years. Recently we have discovered a picture of “Dad Holmes” wearing the diamond, however the diamond does look different now. This is because it originally was an old miner’s cut which is a bit crude, so Wyatt’s parents had a full carat cut of to make it more brilliant and to give it more facets. Wyatt talked to Heidi Gibson and had her put the diamond into one of her Gatsby styled rings, which has a 1920s flair. This brings the diamond full circle because this would be the popular women’s style when “Dad Holmes” originally had the ring.