We found love in a hopeless place - a global pandemic and right after the infamous 2021 freeze in Austin, TX. Ben actually thought Erika ghosted him because she wasn’t responding to him due to the fact that she had no power and no way to charge her phone for a few days. Since the COVID-19 vaccine wasn’t available yet, our first date was over facetime and then we met up in person at an outdoor brewery sitting 6 ft away from other people. Three hours later, after bonding about reading the same book at the same time, marveling at how Oscar was the best dog, and forgetting to eat the entire time, we both knew that we wanted to hang out again as soon as possible. Our relationship grew as we went together to farmer’s markets, trips to West Texas, and infinite rain soaked meet-ups. Our love gradually grew as we traveled across the country, moved in together, and even adopted a brand new puppy, Zoya. Now, neither of us can imagine life before we met each other (and we could never separate the dogs ;)), and we can’t wait to celebrate with all of you for the next chapter in our lives.