We swiped right in January 2022 on Hinge! After about a week of a few back and forth messages on the app, Erick asked if I wanted to meet for dinner at DRP. I knew at that moment this was going to be something special...he's asking to meet at Del Ray Pizzeria (DRP) not knowing it's my favorite pizza place in Virginia! We met at DRP on January 11, 2022, had a few pizza rolls, chatted about almost everything and anything and then decided to go to one more spot for a drink. We were at Copperwood until it closed enjoying our conversations and getting to know each other. I'm pretty sure I left the date that night and called all my friends immediately letting them know I found the one! I like to use January 11, 2022 as our "date-aversary" but Erick will tell you it's March 20, 2022 when he asked me to be his girlfriend at a 24-hr gas station in Savannah, Georgia while visiting his best friend. That gas station has the best fried chicken and catfish we have ever eaten so it will be remembered forever for many reasons. Fast forward to May 2023 and we took our first international trip together which ended up being the trip of a lifetime and one which will be hard to top. In Corniglia, Cinque Terra, Italy, on May 23, 2023, Erick got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I couldn't believe it was happening! I was so excited and surprised and had a ton of questions, where has the ring been?, did you ask my dad?, who knows?, that he had to ask the question twice before I said "yes!" I was wondering why he was so chatty during dinner and going over our first day in Italy multiple times. For those of you wondering, the ring was in his toiletry bag the entire time, he did ask my mom and dad for permission to marry me, and there were a handful of friends and his mom and siblings that knew it was happening on our Italy trip. They kept a good secret and we were on cloud nine our entire trip, not to mention we were in Italy and London so that was amazing too! Together we made the decision to officially tie the knot, just a few months after our engagement, on September 27, 2023 because I was going to be up for reassignment with the Air Force in the summer of 2024 and we wanted to make sure Erick would be on my orders (he's officially in the military spouses club!). However, we knew we wanted a big wedding with all of our family and friends there so we are doing round two with all of you on September 27, 2024 and we could not be more excited to have you there as we celebrate 1 year of marriage! It's been an amazing adventure so far and Erick, Oliver (our fur baby), and I are so excited for what our future has in store! Luckily, the Air Force heard our wishes and answered our prayers and we will be staying in Virginia for 2 more years. We hope you enjoy our love story as much as we do! We can't wait to see you all in September. Love- The Bautista's