Words by Lyndsay
We both grew up in small towns in central Connecticut. Think cows, golf, and a place where everyone knows your name.
Erica ended up leaving small-town life to study nursing at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. I left it behind to go into cosmetology at Paul Mitchell in New Haven.
Fast forward six years, Erica ends up working alongside Leslie [my childhood best friend] at a hospital in CT.
I remember Leslie mentioning her coworker, and I definitely remember stalking her social media. It wasn’t until the Fall of 2018 that I found the courage to reach out. Coming out is never an easy thing to do, especially when you’re thirty, and everyone already has a preconceived notion of who you are. Erica might not have known it then, but she knows now how much I looked up to her. This beautiful stranger who dared to be who she truly was. She had this confidence about her that I envied.
So, long story short, after a wine tasting to celebrate Leslie’s birthday, I had adopted that confidence. I “slid into Erica’s DM’s” with a video of us singing some catchy pop tune. She responded … a month later!! She wrote, “Can we be friends now?” And I was like, UH YEAH.
We chatted for two weeks before we set up our first official date. Krust Pizza Bar was where we decided on. I couldn’t tell you anything about our conversation that night, what we ordered or what she wore, but what I can tell you is that she felt at home. That and that she pushed me up against the bathroom wall and kissed me that night.
It’s what I like about her the most. She feels like home – my safe place to land.
I had only been secretly out to my closest friends when Erica and I met. After being with her, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. She made me feel confident and accepted. After many years, I finally felt like me. We have had to overcome the fear of me coming out together: the adjustment, the confusion, the repercussions. Thankfully Erica and I are surrounded by the most supportive group of family and friends.
It’s hard to narrow down my favorite memory of us. For Erica, it is when she joined me at an event I hosted at my Pure Barre Studio. It was called ‘Bring Your Boo,’ where veteran clients were encouraged to bring their significant other to take the class with them. I knew this was 110% out of her comfort zone, but she agreed to go. I’ve never been so proud of her.
At one point during the ab workout, we looked over at each other and smiled, and that’s when she knew. We knew that we loved each other.
This brings me to my favorite memory. After wrapping up the wedding season [I do bridal hair], we decided that we would take a little ‘baecation’ up to Portland, Maine. The first night there, I hid in the bathroom to blow up a gold LOVE balloon. Tears running down my face, I told her she was it for me. She was my home. I don’t know what the future has in store for us, but I do know we want to travel the world together – hand in hand and proud of the love we found in one another.
Photography by Sarah Noele Photography
Cake Bowerbird by Ali
Dress Julie Allen Bridals
Florist The Tangled Grapevine
Hair Adrianna Maria Hair
Jewelry Maple Lane Jewelry
Jumpsuit Lulus
Lovers Erica & Lindsay
Makeup Resurge Beauty Bar
Planning & Design Sarah Noele Photography
Stationery TS Calligraphy
Table Over and Over
Venue Studio 52 North
