Erin and Brandon met in the summer of 2008 working at Gamekeeper’s Taverne in Chagrin Falls. They spent the summer running around with friends, going to Indians games and floating at Nelsons Ledges. They went back to school in the fall, Erin to Austin and Brandon to Lexington, and kept up with each other on social media. Brandon moved to Chicago, and the two stayed in touch for a while, but ultimately distance and life steered them in different directions. Brandon moved back to Cleveland from Chicago in 2019 to be closer to family. That summer, Erin was in town from Austin visiting with her grandmother, and a few of the old Gamekeeper’s crew reunited for brunch thanks to their good friend Grace. Erin and Brandon sat next to each other and immediately hit it off again. They saw each other every day that week, and Brandon even played hooky to catch an Indians game with her (Thanks Doni, sorry Thrive). They decided to continue talking despite the distance, and made a pact to see each other every month. So over the next several months Brandon took his first ever trip to Texas for the Red River Rivalry and Austin City Limits, and they spent weekends in Chicago, New York and Florida. Then in March 2020, Erin pushed up a trip to Cleveland for her sister Alyssa's baby shower thanks to a new virus threatening to shut down global travel. Sadly the baby shower was cancelled, but Erin was officially in the Cle to ride out quarantine with Brandon. One week became two and then one month became six. The pandemic closed everything down, but it opened the door for them to spend the rest of their lives together.

In June 2021, Brandon knew he was ready to propose and solidify his love for Erin. The day was all planned out, but like most things, it didn’t go quite as expected. They went for a sunrise jog along the Hilton Head intracoastal waterway, and at the end of the path, Brandon asked if Erin wanted to go all the way to the beach. Naturally, the answer was “no,” so Brandon thought, “well here goes nothing” and carefully unzipped his pocket and clasped the ring for dear life. Erin turned around as Brandon dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. She exclaimed yes, of course, and finally agreed to run to the beach where they asked an awesome stranger to document the moment. That evening Brandon and Erin's families had a beautiful barbecue at her parents' house with all their siblings and nieces and nephews. Brandon had a photographer come to help capture the memory, and they jokingly recreated the proposal on the beach for good measure :)