I was newly single and ready to mingle, but also unwilling to waste my time- I knew what I wanted and was not settling for anything less than my **seemingly never ending** list of man musts.

Eric and I matched on hinge. I remember almost not swiping on him because he was super cute AND his profile mentioned he went to MIT AND Stanford grad school !? I thought he must be lying or something is really wrong with him. Thankfully, we matched and Eric immediately asked me to pizza, so I couldn't say no.

Our date was at 7:30, so at 7p i was in the middle of getting ready when I got a text from Eric saying he was running 10 minutes late, I had a brief moment of panic until I confirmed our plans and let him know that actually he would be 20 minutes early..thankfully time management wasn't on my man must list at the time.

I walked in and saw this cute, nerdy guy sitting at the bar on his laptop working and thought hm, maybe he really did go to school where he said. We immediately hit it off, but kept the conversation light with topics like religion, family, and how we were raised

After pizza we went next door to a dive bar and played dice, where Eric did NOT take it easy on me and basically swindled $6 from me-I'll never forget this.

At the end of the night, Eric asked if I wanted a ride home on his bike pegs -equally as romantic as it was tempting , but I somehow managed to decline and we decided on a second date.

Our second date was when I was really sold. We met up for a mid-day hike at a park in SF. I remember walking up to meet him and really noticed how tall and handsome he was. His dark hair, green eyes, and contagious smile...hubba. I was planning on the date ending before dinner, but instead after the hike we ending up wandering around the city, popping into random bars, playing pinball ( I won of course), and eventually grabbing dinner. We had the best night just laughing and exploring together. I don't think I was home until midnight that night.

The next morning, I sent Eric a pic of me stuffing my face with a croissant (we really bonded over food) and the next thing I know we're hanging out the entire day again. Now here we are-with no shortage of croissants or pizza in our lives.

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world and can't believe I get to spend the rest of my life with Eric. He hits all my man musts and somehow more. It's so easy and natural with him and we continue to have the best times exploring and laughing together. He is the best friend, partner, roommate, and support system I could ever imagine and I can't wait to marry him surrounded by everyone we love!

Ok… our story. We met the old fashioned way: online. First I was blown away by how beautiful and well traveled Sarah was. She had a prompt on her dating profile that said “best way to ask me out” and her response was “pizza.” Wow. Oh heck yeah. I skipped the small talk, told her I wanted to try a new pizza place called Pink Onion, and asked if she was free next Wednesday. When she walked in my first impression was confirmed: she was stunning. We went through the small talk and got to ordering. I suggested a medium pizza and salad. She said we should get the large pizza. OH MY. This is the one!

We hit it off. She was witty, interesting, family-oriented, and thoughtful. The conversation flowed naturally. I felt a sense of familiarity with her. I suggested a bar for a drink after dinner and we walked around the corner to a random bar. The vibes were fun. We started playing dice and a random guy joined us for a while. Once he left Sarah went for the hard hitting questions. On my dating profile I said I was Catholic and spiritual. She asked me, “is Jesus Christ your lord and savior?” I wasn’t shy. I talked about my spirituality. She did the same, and it was attractive to see her depth. By the end of the first date I was really attracted to her.

For our second date, I asked her to go on an urban hike with me. We hiked through Glen Park Canyon, to Twin Peaks, through the Castro and ended up in the Mission. It was a lot longer than we planned for, and even more fun than I thought it would be. The conversation flowed and the laughs just kept coming. Again I felt a sense of familiarity, comfort, and ease. This was the start of Labor Day weekend, and it was a beach weekend in SF… you get two or three of those a year. I was planning to work on Sunday. And just as I sat down in front of my computer, Sarah sent me a deadly croissant selfie. Jeez. I couldn’t resist. She picked me up and we went to Crissy Field Beach. It was 80 and sunny, and I was so happy I could barely contain myself.

Fast forward 9 months and we moved in together. It was fun to share a vision for the space and build something together. Throughout the relationship I felt a strong sense of compatibility, and living together was no different. We were teammates and the next step was obvious to me. I loved that every step towards proposing was confidence inducing: talking to friends, talking to my parents, asking Ed and Anna for their blessing, working with Claire and Nikki on the ring design, and planning the proposal and celebrations. I know Sarah is the love of my life and I can’t believe I found her. Took me a while, but boy was it worth the wait!

I’m excited to marry this incredible woman and partner, and I’m excited for you all to celebrate with us. Bring your dancing shoes and your hangover remedies. We’re going to have a fun weekend!!