Our story begins like all good love stories do – with Erica sending a wink.
We were both living in different cities, Erica in Washington D.C. and Jim in Mechanicsburg, PA. Knowing that she would be returning to Pennsylvania for a job, Erica decided to give online dating a shot – and an attractive guy, with a big grin and bald head, caught her eye. She sent a “wink” – and Jim was crazy enough to send a message back.
After weeks of communicating through emails and texts, the time came for our first date. Looking back, we can both agree that we were equally nervous and excited to finally meet!
At the time, Erica was staying at her parents’ house on winter break. As Jim likes to tell the story, his plans to greet Erica at her door were thwarted when she “sprinted” to his car. Needless to say, she was excited!
The date went perfectly, beginning with Jim giving Erica a bag full of gifts that were symbolic of conversations from the previous weeks. We enjoyed dinner at The Mill in Hershey, PA and finished with a beautiful tour of Christmas lights at Hershey’s Sweet Lights.
Oh…and did we mention that we wore “ugly Christmas sweaters” on our first date?
We spent almost every day together that winter break, and despite temporarily living in different cities, we've been inseparable ever since.
After almost two years of dating, Jim got down on one knee (which was quite difficult in his boot!) and asked Erica to be his wife. Surrounded by their families, Erica was thrilled to say "YES!"
So, as we like to say....It started with a wink, and the rest is history!