How we met
I met Eric on Bumble in June of 2020 after roughly 1 million previous failed attempts with online dating. When we first started talking, he told me he was leaving for a trip to Red River Gorge to which I thought ‘oh here we go again, another guy who is giving me some dumb excuse to ghost me’. Imagine my surprise when he actually messaged me when he got back like he said he would! (This was far from my normal experience with such apps).

We talked for a week or so and since we were still in the starting months of Covid-19 it was more of a challenge to come up with a plan for a first date. I jokingly invited him to my friend’s rehearsal dinner at Wolf Creek Winery, but deciding that might not be the best option we agreed to meet up after her wedding the next evening. The following day I was at the reception and was texting Eric to find out what the plan was and he wasn’t responding to my texts at all (here he had fallen asleep after spending the day at his parent’s pool). I was starting to feel increasingly pessimistic about the reality of us meeting up that night with each passing minute and I was ready to write Eric off when he finally called as I was driving home. We then figured out that every bar was closed at that time because bars had to close early because of Covid-19 and so I agree to meet him at this house (not to worry I made sure several friends had the address and I promised I would check in with them frequently.) When I walked in I was greeted by a very excited Jax (Eric’s puppy) and we spent the night drinking wine (Riesling which Eric convinced me he actually liked) on his deck and the rest is history. I’ve never felt as comfortable as I did with Eric in my life and I knew he was the one that first weekend.


How he proposed
My family invited us to go on vacation with them to the Outer Banks the beginning of this past June and unbeknownst to me, Eric had dinner with my parents while I was in Arizona a few weeks before to ask for their permission to marry me. Since Eric had started a new job and only had a week of vacation, we decided we would go to dinner one night by ourselves and I really didn’t think too much of it (Eric had said he was going to propose at the end of the summer and he didn’t even know my ring size so I was confident he was not proposing to me on this trip).

We went to dinner on the ocean and afterwards we traveled to the sand dunes to watch the sunset. Neither of us had ever been to these dunes so we had no idea how far we needed to go to get to the top and while we were walking I saw this creepy guy taking photos. I told Eric I thought he looked creepy and Eric brushed it off saying he was sure he was just taking pictures of the people paragliding. When we got to the top of one of the dunes, we set up a picnic blanket and it was starting to sprinkle so I put on my rain coat. As soon as I put up my hood Eric said “do you really want to wear that?” and I was like “yea of course, it’s raining!”

Next thing I knew the creepy photographer was right in front of us (there wasn’t anyone else around us for at least 200 yards) and I thought he was going to take our picture and ask if he could use it for his magazine or something (not sure why this was my first thought). At the same time Eric was telling me how he had fibbed a little about something and I’m immediately panicking like oh god he’s already married and has a family doesn’t he? Eric then pulled out the ring box and told me he fibbed because he told me he was going to propose later that summer but was actually going to ask me now. I was so surprised and naturally I started crying, but I also managed to somewhat grab the box out of Eric’s hand (I think I was super excited to see the ring hahah!) I of course said yes and Eric told me he had hired the photographer to take photos of the proposal.

I immediately called my parents to tell them and I was crying so hard when I told them that they initially thought we had got into an accident. We went back to the house afterwards and spent the rest of the week celebrating with them.

How we met
Denise and I met on the dating app Bumble in June of 2020. We talked through the app for a couple weeks to make sure neither of us were too crazy before deciding to meet in person. Those two weeks were amazing because it was the first time in my life that I truly connected with another person. Not only did we connect right away throughout texting, but she was absolutely beautiful in her pictures and completely out of my league. (She’ll always be out of my league, but I don’t tell her too often, so she doesn’t get a big head). No matter what the questions or conversations were, we had similar opinions on virtually everything. How often do you find a girl that’s not only beautiful but also a pescatarian who’s successful and wants to raise two kids in NE Ohio? Our values, our opinions, our futures aligned, and I was determined to not screw it up.

That is until the day came when we were supposed to meet. It was a beautiful Saturday, and I was excited that day because I was certain I was going to meet the person I would spend the rest of my life with. And yes, I knew even before meeting Denise in person that she was the one (I’m a cheese ball I know). I decided to celebrate that excitement with a few too many drinks at my parents’ pool. I remember talking about her to my dad and Uncle John and how nervous I was to finally meet her. They settled my nerves with another drink. (That’s the Dodson way I guess). We scheduled out date for 8pm that night and when I got home from the pool, it was around 5pm. I had 3 hours before we were going to meet and decided that’s enough time for a quick nap and to then get ready. As I should have known from being late to most things in my life, that sleeping after drinks and the pool was a recipe for disaster. As you can see where this is going, I slept through our date and awoke to my third miss call from Denise. I thought two things when I first woke up. First, an image of Red Foreman from that 70’s show looking over me saying “You found a way to screw this up, “Dumb***”. And the other thought was, three missed calls…She must really like me! (Haha). When I answered, I started apologizing repeatedly without letting her get a word in. When I finally gave her a second to respond, it wasn’t what I expected. She was exceptionally happy and asked if I was still interested in meeting that night. The rest is history!

How I proposed
I proposed to Denise on June 2nd, 2021, at Jockey’s Ridge in Outer Banks, NC. But the story starts a few months before then. Denise and I had many conversations early on in our relationship about our futures together. The types of conversations that make most guys (including myself before Denise) push away very quickly after only being together less than a year. But I knew in my heart that she was the one and I told her I would be proposing in early fall. (Little did she know).

The Charboneau family invited me on their vacation to the Outer Banks around the same time these engagement conversations took place. I remember thinking to myself, what better place would there be to surprise Denise with an early proposal? Her family would be there to celebrate, and we would be able to spend the first part of our engagement together at the beach. I wanted to do this without anyone knowing when or where it was going to take place. (Less pressure in case she said no). Our vacation was set for early June and around the middle of May, I had almost everything taken care of. The ring was bought, the reservation to the restaurant were made, the logistics from the restaurant to Jockey’s Ridge were thought through and the photographer was booked. The last thing I needed to do was ask her parents for permission, which I did while Denise was in Arizona with her cousin Heather and another friend. They said of course and we celebrated with a great dinner and a few drinks. Her parents asked me if I planned on doing it while we were on vacation. I told them that I was hoping to do something in early fall (her favorite time of the year), and I was still working out the details.

Fast forward a couple weeks and we were in Outer Banks enjoying our vacation. We were there with Denise’s parents, her mom’s best friend Mrs. Sheppard, her brother Travis, and his girlfriend Jenilee. Denise and I decided early in the trip that we wanted to get dinner one night and watch the sunset, just the two of us. (Our little romantic night out – Nothing unusual, right?) That evening we went to Miller’s Waterfront Restaurant and had an incredible seafood dinner. (No complaints other than I barely remember any of it. The only thing I could think about during dinner was the question I was asking in about 30 minutes). We left the restaurant and headed to Jockey’s Ridge. After parking at the bottom, we started making our ascent up the sand dunes. About halfway up, I saw a small man with a camera taking pictures in all directions. I remember thinking to myself, God I hope he plays this cool. Immediately after I had that thought, Denise said “what is that weird guy taking pictures of”? Luckily, there were hang-gliders still on the dunes, so I told her he was probably photographing them. We got to the top and found a nice place to lay our blanket and hang out before the sunset. We still had about 20 minutes before the sunset, so we (not me) just relaxed and talked about how well the trip was going. Shortly thereafter it started drizzling and at that exact moment, I realized the time had come. Mike (our photographer), being the professional he is, made his way over and started taking pictures of us. (Please keep in mind, at this moment while he is taking pictures, I had not pulled out the ring nor got on one knee). While Denise was creeped out by what was unfolding, I told her that I had fibbed about something. She immediately took her attention off of him and back on to me. I told her, “Back at the beginning of the year, you and I talked about getting engaged in early fall. Well, I lied to you about that”. I pulled out the ring and got down on one knee and asked her if she would Marry me. And she said yes!