Erik and Melissa met on a fateful night at The Loop in St. Louis Park outside the bathrooms (of all places). After chatting and realizing Erik lived in Rosemount (near the family bowling center Bogarts), Melissa challenged him to a bowl-off and gave him her number.

To her surprise, he texted her and after a week of texting they decided to go on their first date at Elsie's in Northeast. After beating him in bowling (something Erik would soon get used to) they bopped around Northeast and got to know each other.

After many dates (some digital as Erik was often traveling for work) and tons of laughs, they soon realized that things were getting serious and the rest is history!

Erik proposed on December 17th, 2020 (she barely made it out of the car before he was down on one knee!) and Melissa got to wedding planning right away.