An Arizona couple’s dream wedding will become reality, thanks to the kindness of strangers.
It all started when a food delivery driver put a special note on a food order. The message ended up on social media.
When Erica Hernandez had food delivered, she had no idea she’d come across a message like the one she found. She says she just had to post it on social media.
Only expecting her Chipotle delivery, Hernandez had a heartfelt note attached to the bag.
@erica_cristal
“Something along the lines of ‘Thank you for your order. I am driving on the side to give my fiancé the wedding she deserves,’” Hernandez said.
Paul ​Slobodzian kindly asked for a tip and added his Venmo account username.
“I never set out to leave those notes with the intention of somebody making a video about it or even trying to broadcast it to anybody besides the person I was delivering to,” Slobodzian said.
Erica tipped him, but to help out in a bigger way, she made a TikTok video.
“I just felt really inspired to post it and see if my friends would be willing to donate or any followers that I had on there to donate,” she said.
Her TikTok went viral in two hours, catching Slobodzian’s attention.
“Your phone just started blowing up,” said his fiancé Aly Perkins.
“Yes, seriously and honestly, it hasn’t stopped since Friday afternoon,” he said. “It’s been thousands of messages of people supporting us.”
In less than a week, Slobodzian and his fiancé received enough donations for their dream wedding this September.
“We didn’t really expect anything to come of this and the fact that a stranger got our note and felt so compelled to post it on the internet and advocate for two strangers is unbelievable,” Perkins said.
They’re keeping everyone updated on TikTok.
@paulslobo711 CHIPOTLE DELIVERY DRIVER FIANCÉ UPDATE: A huge thank you to everyone who has reached out regarding my note on @erica_cristal’s video. The support for me and my fiancée, @Aly, means more than I can express. Thank you all for changing our lives. #update #chipotle #wedding #deliverydriver
Slobodzian gave the backstory, saying he and Perkins have been driving for Uber Eats for the past 18 months to save for their wedding. They were in the final stretch when the TikTok reached over 30 million people.
Now that they have enough money, they’re going to focus on spending extra time together before their big day.
“It’s just a very special bond that I actually didn’t even know if I’d find with a person and to know that I found it with Ay is the best,” Slobodzian said.
This story gets even better.
The couple thanked Hernandez by giving her $1,000. On top of that, they invited her to their wedding and she said yes.