The Lucky Lady: Brittany Harrison, 24, Academic Success Coordinator
Hometown: Largo, Maryland
Her Leading Man: Eric Brady, 27, Senior Analyst
Hometown: Chesapeake, Virginia
The Big Day: July 4, 2014
Wedding Location: Washington, D.C.
Where and how did you meet your man?
I met Eric in the fall of 2007 at the University of Maryland.
What was your past dating life like?
My past dating life was pretty stressful. I had a lot of inconsistency in the men that I dated and tried to love away their flaws, but I rarely got the same in return. I was actually dealing with a rough breakup when I met Eric.
Were you looking for love at the time?
I was absolutely not looking for love! I just found out that the guy I was dating was intimate with another girl on campus and I was devastated. Eric texted me and I told him I was in an awful mood and he immediately offered his friendship.
What was your first impression of him?
I actually had a crush on Eric from the moment I saw him. I was at freshman orientation and he was there stepping with his fraternity brothers. Eric was handsome, intelligent and well spoken, but he was a senior so I thought it would only be a crush.
Did you play hard to get? How?
I played hard to get for so long because Eric was in a pretty long relationship prior to us developing a friendship. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a fling because I had just dealt with two bad situations back-to-back and I did not want to have my heart broken again. When we first started talking I would give him these “scenarios” to find out who he really was. Looking back, it was ridiculous! With Eric, what you see is what you get.
How did he pop the question?
He called me on his way home and told me to get dressed because he wanted to get dinner. We went downtown to Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck, and I just thought he was being romantic because of the week I’d had. At the end of dinner he said he wanted to get a special dessert and although I don’t eat dessert, he seemed adamant. We went to a pretty unassuming spot when a gentleman approached and asked if we would like to ride the gondola. Dessert was served on the gondola ride and as we approached a waterfall, Eric told me to close my eyes and then he proposed. I was floored! I immediately screamed when I saw the ring.
What was really going through your mind as he proposed?
I was too excited to process everything that was happening but after the awful week I had just experienced I was just so happy that he surprised me and that he picked such a perfect time. (It was finally happening!) He picked the perfect ring too!