Erika and Dustin

How We Met

We met in middle school, so we’ve known each other since we were 11. We both went to a magnet school that was far from our hometown & rode the same bus together. We were scene partners in the school play in eighth grade (first photo) which is when Dustin claims he first fell for me. The second photo is one I took of him at the end of seventh grade!

Fun fact: we rode Bus 109, and Dustin considers 109 to be his lucky number. When we went ring shopping, I fell in love with a ring but didn’t know the name of the style. After the fact I found out the ring style is called Parisian 109!

How They Asked

On Saturday, July 13th, Dustin took me to my favorite place on Earth, Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The Cemetery is one of the most beautiful, joyful places I’ve ever been; concerts & movie screenings are hosted at HWF frequently so it’s a place filled with love and laughter. We walked to my favorite part of the cemetery when I turned around to see Dustin on one knee. He said, “Will you spend forever with me?” Apparently, I said “of course” but I definitely momentarily blacked out from joy.

It was really important to me to give Dustin an engagement ring as well; we’re not big believers in gender roles, and equality between partners is the most important thing to us. I find it unfair that usually, men (in typical het relationships) are the only ones who have to buy a special ring to symbolize the commitment of an engagement. I wanted him to have a reciprocal symbol so I bought him one he chose. He brought it with him to the cemetery when he proposed, so we both had our engagement rings immediately! We immediately got brunch at our fav LA restaurant, Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, and that evening we celebrated with our friends by seeing a screening of The Exorcist at HWF. Best day ever!