Erik and Rachel met doing a production of 42nd Street in Meredith, New Hampshire at Interlakes Summer Theatre. This was the first photo they ever took together. It was for a local newspaper promo. Needless to say... they did not know this was the first photo of thousands!

As chance would have it... The very next year they happened to be cast in another show together: Mary Poppins at Arkansas Rep. Just friends the year before, they hadn't spoke since finishing up the contract in New Hampshire. This time, they connected in a different way...

It seemed like life was imitating art on and off stage. Erik and Rachel got to partner together for the first time!

...and Erik let Rachel know he would always have her back. The chemistry was definitely there this time around and they officially began dating.

A brief few months later Erik brought Rachel to Albuquerque for the first time to meet his family. She luckily did not pivot turn at first site and even got to ride in a hot air balloon! How very Albuquerque!

While out west, they decided to take their first "trip" together to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. They survived the first major relationship obstacle... the road trip!

Atypical in their line of work, Rachel actually had a few more performance contracts lined up after Arkansas which meant their first bout with "distance". While Erik was visiting her up in Massachusetts to see her latest show, one of her fellow castmates unfortunately injured his foot a week before opening. The director asked if anyone had a spare "chimney sweep"? Luckily, Rachel exclamed, "I do!" Erik stepped in last minute and they got to do this special show together again!

Always on the go, Rachel had booked her first national tour, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The tour was scheduled to last almost an entire year. After a few rough months of uncertainty, Erik was faced with a tough decision.... Attempt to make this new relationship work long distance or hang up his dance shoes for a year and follow Rachel around the country! Little did she know at the time... Erik knew she was THE ONE so the choice was simple!

Luckily, a tour merchandise job opened up with the company. Erik interviewed and booked the job so that he could travel with her! Tour life was rough at times and amazing at others! From sleeping on top of each other on a single bus seat to managing work related disappointments and stress, if they could survive this: SURELY they could handle anything... or so they thought!

One passion that brought Rachel and Erik together was their passion for fitness. While it was tough to find a reliable gym on tour, Rachel somehow convinced Erik to run on this Halloween themed race. These onsies were hot! Rachel had to stop to use the bathroom mid-race so Mickey waited for his Minnie while running in place like an idiot. Underestimating how difficult and time consuming it was to shed a sweaty Minnie onesie to use a random gas station bathroom, Mickey and Minnie ended up finishing near the back of the pack. But most importantly, they finished together!

The Joseph tour had a planned layoff period in November and December which allowed Rachel and Erik some time to connect with Rachel's Dad, Bernie while in Florida. We all bonded over our love of Disney.

And in typical rachel fashion, Rachel found them something to "do" during layoff... another 42nd Street, only this time in Roanoke, VA. Erik had to re-learn what it was like to perform but it was a nice break in action from tour life.

The perk of tour was the discovery of new places. While back on the road the following year with the Joseph tour, they ended up swinging through a little historic town called Savannah, GA during the southern leg of the tour. They stumbled upon this rather precarious pink restaurant that ended up being one of the most magical dining experiences they ever had together. They loved it so much that they thought they would bring everyone next time for a very special occasion... their wedding!

While on the beach in Daytona, Florida, Rachel needed to make sure Erik didn't forget how to execute a proper dip. Even though he had only been folding t-shirts for most of the year, he remembered well enough and passed the test.

During their second layoff from tour, Rachel and Erik took a trip to Universal Studios and geeked out on all things Harry Potter!

Tour was winding down as the Joseph Tour made it's way west. Rachel got to experience giant redwoods for the first time! It's crazy to think of how many adventures we have had in the past six years!

Tour finally finished and they survived. But as if they didn't travel enough in the past year... they took an epic road trip south for a college friend's wedding in South Carolina. On the way, Rachel introduced Erik to Washington DC.

And of course, they stopped by Savannah on the way. In addition to the Olde Pink House, they frequented Savannah famous Leopold's Ice Cream. You'll find out all about Leopold's in November!

After moving back to NYC, it was time to start their life over. This meant back to apartment hunting and auditioning. Luckily, this period was brief as Rachel and Erik found themselves at odds.... as in... the opposite sides of a 1950's NYC gang war! They were both cast in a production of West Side Story outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Even though they were at odds on stage.... they always made up after!

For Christmas, Rachel fulfilled a lifelong dream of Erik's... a Sunday Night Primetime NFL Football game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots beat the Ravens handily this night on their road to their Super Bowl Win over the Falcons later that season. They spent the majority of the rest of the year in New England!

While finishing up West Side Story, Erik and Rachel also found out they had a very special opportunity in store for the next year: to sail around the world while performing the musical Grease. Rachel told Erik it was okay that he could not swim (that he'd survive) and that there would be plenty of Dr. Pepper aboard. One of these was a lie! We'll let you figure that one out!

Adjusting to cruise life was tough... even after all had they been through together.. Luckily, they always had each other.... show after show and ship drill after ship drill.

The best part was they got to see some pretty amazing places... from Rome

to Paris...

to more Paris...

And even Norway!

And one of their most frequented spots, Lisbon! Getting to experience all of the culture and epic history of such places made the world seem so large!

Erik and Rachel could go on and on about their adventures in Europe! They learned a lot, saw a lot, and most importantly grew closer together. They realized no matter where they were in the world...they wanted to fly together!

Amongst all the traveling and sightseeing, they even got to participate in the classic dance battle as Danny and Cha Cha.

After surviving the cruise ship life and making it back to NYC, Erik decided it was time to solidify things! Before he spent any of his sea booty on NYC rent, he decided to get on one knee and pop THE question in the iconic Washington Square Park. He came up with a ruse to lure Rachel on an atypical date of cheap pizza and dessert. On the way to dessert, he stopped in the middle of the arch and told her he wanted to snap a quick photo. She turned around and this is what she saw...

And she actually said yes! Surely this meant things would settle down for them.... right?

After the engagement...that just meant things were just going to get busier. Rachel got the opportunity to have steady work during a six month season at Tuacahn Theatre in St. George, Utah. Erik visited many times in between his church contract in NYC and a production of holiday Inn in Auburn NY. While visiting, they took every advantage of being extremely close to Las Vegas, Nevada and Gordon Ramsey's flagship restaurant, Hells Kitchen.

After all of the many adventures Rachel coaxed Erik into.... Erik finally got his revenge. Rachel promised Erik that IF they made it through their ship contract in one piece... she would use some of her ship booty to get him a puppy. They waited almost a year to find the perfect match. In November they finally found the perfect match and brought Mr. Banks to their new NYC apartment.

After spending the holidays with family and the new puppy, it was time to start performing again.... this time back where it all started... at Arkansas Rep performing the musical Chicago. They packed up their suitcases and puppy and drove down to Little Rock.

They even got the attention of the local press in Little Rock, Arkansas because of their unique love story coming full circle at Arkansas Rep.

After their contract in Arkansas Rep and a few months in NYC. they spent some quality family time back in New Mexico for part of the summer.

Come fall they settled back in NYC. In an attempt to settle down a bit, Erik and Rachel traveled north to Massachusetts to decorate their apartment. It was the first time in a while they spent more than a few months in one place together.

Life had slowed down so much, we were able to host Rachel's Mom, Ellen. Of course, her NYC city trip was not complete without a trip to Katz Deli!

After a few months of Erik singing at St. James and Rachel starting a new fitness job, they found some time to get back up north for Thanksgiving. Things seemed to finally be settling down a bit...

Another opening, another show. This time, Matilda. On Long Island, NY at the Engeman Theatre. Rachel was able to commute from NYC everyday.

Finally being in New York City for awhile, Rachel and Erik got to see their lifelong friend, Broadway star, and future officiant Correy West more regularly.

And they decided that experiences were much nicer than things... so in celebration of Hanukkah/Christmas/Birthdays/ and Valentines Day, they decided to take a trip back to Disney World in February.

Erik and Rachel also finally had time to do some location scouting for their wedding... in Star Wars Galaxies Edge! No... not really. But they did find a perfect venue up in Cape Cod where rachel grew up! Just when things seemed to finally be falling in place....

The world shut down. NYC shut down. We had to leave our lives behind... pick up and relocate. Thankfully we had plenty of family willing to take us in (mainly because they wanted to see Mr. Banks).

With wedding plans on hold, Rachel and Erik made the best of their unexpected time with family. Rachel became certified as a personal trainer and turned her efforts online. Erik served as de facto media crew filming and editing for her. Every once in awhile, they would steal a few hours to go achieve some normalcy and take a date. It was very strange for them to be tied down to a single place for so long.

After spending months in New Mexico waiting out COVID, we took a quick trip back east for Thanksgiving! Theme for the evening was "lumberjack plaid". Even Mr. Banks joined in on the festivities.

The year passed by strangely fast. One positive was that Erik and rachel finally got to celebrate all of the holidays with family. No Christmas Eve church services or Holiday Shows!

As the world slowly returned to normal, Rachel got to fulfill a COVID delayed contract at Tuacahn. This time... instead of performing she got to Associate Director and Choreograph a show in the season.

And as fate would have it... due to another injury in the cast, she was asked to stay on for the season as a performer as well. This meant many more trips for Erik to Utah... after all, they still had a wedding to plan.

They decided that since their relationship was mostly defined by its transient nature, what better than to have a destination wedding in one of their favorite spots, Savannah, GA.

Will you go fly a kite with them?