In 2013 both Natalie and Eric moved to Pennsylvania from different states. They lived a mere twenty minute drive away from each other, and yet they did not meet then -- that would have been too easy. No, the pair of them decided to make life interesting by trudging through two years of bad dates. These lovable idiots didn't meet until 2015 thanks to the unlikeliest of methods -- Tinder. Let's put this into perspective, shall we? In the two years they didn't meet, questionable life decisions put them on the path to say, "screw it, I'm downloading Tinder." While swiping through, it would have taken a simple flick in the wrong direction and they might have never met. However, a stroke of luck made their meeting possible. Several phone conversations took place in the week following their mutual swipe rights -- many of which Eric almost froze to death while sitting in his car in front of his apartment because the signal was so bad unbeknownst by Natalie. The night finally came when they decided to meet. To this day, Eric claims that he knew at the moment he saw Natalie step out of her condo with her unbelievable swagger that she would be the one. From that night on, this disgustingly sweet couple could not get enough of each other. I know, gross.

PREFACE: Whilst discussing proposal ideas, Natalie began creating a list of things that needed to occur during the special event. First, her family and friends should be there. Second, it should be caught on camera. And then the list got more complicated. The following were jokingly added: a tiger, a volleyball, fireworks, a dragon, and fire. THE ENGAGEMENT: May 20th, 2016, Natalie was preparing for graduation from Arcadia University. The night before, her sister Carlyn and her brother-in-law Greg surprised her by coming all the way from Boston. One of her childhood best friends, Jessica made the long trip out from Colorado. Her parents, Betti and John came all the way from California and Eric's parents drove up from Maryland. Everyone was there ready to celebrate, but Natalie didn't know there was more to that day than receiving a degree. Once the long commencement ceremony came to a close, Natalie was booking it around the university for photo ops. The final spot was the staircase at the castle. Natalie knew there would be a crowd of graduates taking pictures there, so she picked up speed. Numerous attempts were made to slow her down, but none worked. She got to the top of the staircase and looked down to see all her friends and family waiting below. Eric stood in front of her as she realized that on the stairs leading to their location was a [fake] tiger, a volleyball, fireworks [centerpiece], a dragon [sculpture], and fire [candles]. Barely able to get words out through his tears, Eric proposed, and Natalie said yes, and all of their friends yelled, "YAAASSSSSS."