Ben and Colleen met in 2010 on their high school girls' volleyball team. Ben was the manager and Colleen the resident benchwarmer. Game time commentary and goofing around made them fast friends who fostered a nice, platonic friendship for a few years. Over time friends began noting their mutual obsession, so they decided to face the music. They fell into a long distance romance in the second half of Colleen's freshman year of college, Ben's sophomore year, and soon realized this was something they wanted for a long time. They bonded over their love of music and movies, shared sense of humor and general take on things. They endured separate bouts of long distance but eventually found themselves in Davis, California where Ben was earning his doctorate in chemistry and Colleen was working as a travel nurse. After Ben finished school, the two moved back to Chicago to enjoy friends, family and city life with their cat son, Rooney. They got engaged in February of this year while on a ten year anniversary trip to one of their favorite places, Mendocino, CA. And now they can't wait to celebrate their marriage in the presence of their friends and family in August.