As told by Erika:

Our story begins at The Ohio State University. As a college freshman, I met officiant Anne and groomsman Andy (then dating, now married!) at my church, Jacob's Porch. Anne was Colin's best friend from high school at Lakota East in Cincinnati. By sophomore year, Anne was already trying to set us up, to which Colin responded, "I can find my own girlfriend!"

Fast forward to junior year, and he sure did! We matched on Tinder and were our first ever Tinder dates (a 100% success rate, you might say). Our first date was at the Jacob's Porch Christmas party. I think my "Fleece Navidad" Christmas sweater really won him over. Afterwards, we went to Anne and Andy's place to play a game called Murder in the Dark (similar to Clue in real life). After luring Colin into a trap and surprising him as the killer, he knew he had met his match.

We started officially dating on January 20th, 2017, and he met my parents two weeks later when they came to town for a scheduled visit. We ate at Sweet Carrot, who is catering the wedding! After a year of dating on campus, we decided to do long distance when he went to the University of Tennessee to pursue his PhD and I moved home to Milwaukee to get my Master's. We were very happy when this chapter closed in September of 2020 and I joined him in Knoxville to start my career as a speech-language pathologist while Colin finished up his degree.

These days, we're living in Rockville, Maryland! Dr. Colin got his first job in the Department of Energy trying to make the world a little greener. I work for a small private speech therapy clinic, empowering kiddos and adults to find their voice. We enjoy watching Love Island and the Bachelor, singing in the car, and exploring all the food and bubble tea that the DMV has to offer. After 5 years together, Colin proposed surrounded by friends and family. Our people are super important to us, so we can't wait to celebrate with you in 2024 :)

Q + A

Q: Can I Bring a Plus One?