The Story of David Wagner & Nikki Erdelyi

As told by Nikki

As a young girl I was never one to daydream about my perfect fairy tale wedding. Heck, I grew up with my mom and auntie telling me, “Nic, you don’t need a man.” For the most part I thought they were right and I was perfectly content in my life…then along came David.

Rewind to April 7, 2004. I found myself sitting at the TGIFriday’s bar having a little snack before I headed off to class. I noticed this cute server. He was singing while he worked, and man what a voice! He had the cutest dimples, strong square jaw, and a smile that lit up his face. Fast-forward one week-- same bar, same time, same bartender. I pointed “David” out to my friend Dusti. I wasn’t sure if he remembered me, but he sure was going out of his way to come to our end of the bar and visit/flirt. Dusti and I could tell he was trying to impress us by doing flare behind the bar, showing us silly bar tricks, and telling us jokes. Dusti insisted that he was interested in me but I kept telling her, “Yeah right. He’s just being a bartender.”

When it came time to pay our tab David handed me my credit card slip and pen and said, “Of course, phone numbers are optional.” A bit flustered and embarrassed, I didn’t quite know what to do. I decided it would just be easier to give him my phone number than make up some lame excuse. Besides, I figured he wouldn’t really call…right????

Wrong! That same evening David called and invited me to Elliott’s Bar for karaoke and a drink around 10pm. I remember thinking that that was my bedtime and I had to teach in the morning! Then I thought of those dimples and that voice and said yes. The evening was great fun! I drooled over David’s singing voice, we danced, I expertly put off his advances J, we talked, I earned “brownie points” (David’s term) every time he liked something I said. I ended the evening with a lot of points. Finally about 1:30 am (so much for working in the morning!) David walked me to my car. I, again, shot down his attempts to kiss me. I went to get in my car and then thought “what the hell” so I blocked him against my car and continued to kiss him senseless. He told me later that he saw stars. To this day I can remember thinking on my drive home, “Hmmm…wouldn’t it be funny if I end up marrying him someday.” And to think, here we are engaged AND David still has the receipt that I wrote my name and number on!

David and I were pretty much inseparable after that night. I found a guy that enjoyed many of the same things I did, who wrote poems and cute little messages to me, who brought me flowers just because, and who made me feel truly special, beautiful and loved. He was the first one to say I love you—though he said it in Spanish because he admitted to being a little scared! It only took me a couple days to verify that “te quiero mucho mi novia” really did mean I love you. J Now whenever David says “te quiero mucho mi novia” it gives me these little happy chills because it reminds me of that first time I heard the words from him. I have to admit that it took me a few more weeks to reciprocate those words, but when I said them it was the first time ever and I meant them.

Now, I wish I could say our relationship has been all sunshine and roses. No such luck. Though we had great fun together, we did have a few issues to work through. I was used to being on my own and could be…hmmm, a bit opinionated and bossy. David was a bit too much of a partier and had some growing up to do. Furthermore, he is a recovering addict, which caused some major problems in our relationship. I won’t lie; his active addiction caused a few break-ups. A year ago we spent about 3 months apart—no contact. I was miserable by myself but knew I’d be better off alone than with David if he couldn’t stay clean. I terribly missed the David I fell in love with. Then out of the blue he called me and asked me out on a date. From that “first” date we slowly and carefully rebuilt our relationship and ourselves. I like to think that even though we suffered through some terrible times, that ultimately we are extremely lucky. How many couples get the chance to rediscover each other and fall in love all over again?!?! We enjoy walks, picnics, watching movies, dinners with excellent conversation, time with friends and family, and fun trips. We learned to better communicate, to trust, to share, and to depend on one another. The more we learn, the more we love. And we continue to work on our partnership.

Ultimately we both knew we were on the road to marriage and a family, but it was always a “someday” thought. So I was totally surprised when David proposed to me two weeks ago. David said, “I sometimes know what I want but not always what I need. And sometimes I miss what is sitting right in front of me. I know what I want right now, and that is for you to spend the rest of your life with me.” I of course started crying, but eventually said to, “Give me the ring!” It is a gorgeous ring he picked out that was made even more special to me because the smaller diamonds in the setting came from one of David’s and one of his mothers’ rings.

I think I am already driving David bonkers with wedding talk. J Poor guy. I’m just so darn excited to share and celebrate our life together! A June 2010 wedding is in the planning. David and I would like a smaller, more intimate outdoor wedding at a local bed & breakfast. We have already started looking at locations, but no decision yet. We do know that since David is a working student and I am a high school teacher that we can’t afford (and don’t even want) a big splashy, expensive event. We want to make our wedding day meaningful and special to us. We want to use our talents and those of our friends and family to create a truly unique and enjoyable day. I’m making fun “Save the Date” cards, a girlfriend and I are planning on making homemade candles as party favors, another friend is making our cake, I am going to make a hanky and handbag from my mother’s wedding dress, my auntie is searching for a family prayer book my mom carried at her wedding so that I can do the same, etc. We’ll have taken over five years to make it to the alter, so you better believe it will be a day of celebration!

All in all, our story is one that tells the true power of forgiveness, love, and hope. Numerous smiles and tears have brought us to this current point. I honestly can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone other than David.