Todd & Heidi’s story, as told to Bumble by the happy couple:

From the moment Heidi walked in the door on our first date, I was hooked. She had such an attractive personality and infectious laugh. Let’s also not forget to mention she was an absolute knockout. I couldn’t stop staring at her. We talked for what seemed to be 10 minutes, but in reality was 4 hours.

I could tell she was different from the get go. She hit me with the hard hitting questions right off the bat. She didn’t hold back a thing. I was also very open and honest. Because of this, we progressed very quickly. We had both been through enough to know when it was the real thing. There was no doubt it my mind this was real. I knew it because I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Every free moment I had I wanted to spend with her. Every time I got a text from her, I got butterflies (or bees) in my stomach. Simply thinking about her brought a smile to my face. I fell in love with her quickly. I knew it by New Years Eve. I actually asked her to be my girlfriend that night but she thought it was the booze talking. A few weeks later, she was the one asking me to be her boyfriend. And we were off…

By February, she had moved in with me. By the end of March, we bought a house together. I knew I wanted her to be my wife. We had talked about getting engaged, but maybe in a few months.

But, if Heidi has taught me one thing, it’s to seize the day. I had been awarded a trip to California from my company, so I saw it as the perfect opportunity to propose. I just had no idea how I was going to do it. While researching things to do in Del Mar, I came across a hot air balloon ride. This was perfect. I contacted the balloon company and gave them a heads up. We got to the site, ring in pocket, and up in the sky we went. There were several people in the balloon with us so naturally there was a lot of picture taking and selfies. We got above the clouds and I knew the time was approaching. One of the guys next to us asked if he could take our picture for us. Heidi was enjoying the scenery with her back to me. I handed my phone to the guy and tapped her on the shoulder. She was kind of annoyed that I was interrupting her tranquil moment but when she finally turned around, I was on one knee. She at first thought I had fallen. Then when she saw the ring and realized what was happening. Her exact words were, “are you f*cking kidding me?” That was followed with a yes and a few tears from both of us. Luckily, the guy with my phone figured out what was happening and was able to capture numerous pictures of the series of events. I’m glad she said yes because it would have been a long, awkward trip to the ground.

I have a sleeve of tattoos but I have had this spot that was empty. It has bothered me that it was blank but I wanted to wait until I could fill it with something meaningful. Every tattoo I have represents someone very important to me and my life. I don’t take my tattoos lightly. I knew I wanted to add Heidi to my arm but didn’t know what would represent her accurately. Then it hit me…a bumble bee since we met on Bumble. I had the tattoo done and it fits perfectly, just like it was always meant to be there. I view my arm as kind of like my heart. I have all these people that mean so much to me in my life and on my heart but there has always been an empty spot. Heidi has filled that spot just like the bumble bee tattoo filled the spot on my arm.

We owe a lot to Bumble. Without it, we probably would have never met. It is a lot of fun to go back and look at that initial conversation that started it all. We are thankful to always have that. Keep up the good work. Please know that what you are doing is working and bring real love together.

Thank you for sharing your story with us – we are so happy for you two! Congratulations and so much love from The Bumble Hive.

Nothing makes us happier at The Hive than seeing Bumble success stories! To submit your story, please email stories@team.bumble.com