Erika & Johnny’s love story is one of my all time favorites 😍

These two were high school sweethearts and dated long distance throughout college. When Johnny & Erika started talking about getting married, Erika’s parents gave them Erika’s great-grandmother’s engagement and wedding bands 💛

Fun fact: she is the original Erica, Erika’s namesake!  Another fun tidbit: her husband, Erika’s great-grandfather, Albert Bachem, composed music for fun! Erika (who is finishing up her master's degree in Music Therapy) has some of his handwritten pieces (German polkas!), a few of which she arranged her senior year for a composition project.

They reused the diamonds from Erica’s ring, and Erika actually designed the band herself 💫

A day or two after Johnny proposed, Erika was looking at the original wedding band and noticed the engraving. It said “23 - 5 - 20.” They got married in northern Germany on May 23rd, 1920. Johnny proposed to Erika exactly 100 years later! 🤯 In Erika’s words, “If that’s not fate, I don’t know what is ❤️”

Enjoy these two & their beautiful Chicago engagement session! Can’t wait to celebrate with them on their wedding day next year 🌿