It was the end of December 2020, we all know those times were tough in general much less in the dating realm of life. My best friend, Allie, finally convinced me to make a dating profile on Hinge. I was the furthest from believing I would ever find my prince charming through a dating website. Boy, did God have different plans in store for me! Benjamin charmed me instantly by sending me a virtual "rose". It showed me he was very interested in getting to know me. He wasn't like other guys I had dated or even talked to before. He was so kind and genuine and would send me novels in responses showing me his character and who he really was. We had our first date at Bartaco in Hyde Park and that man could have easily "rainchecked" me but he didn't. Long story short, he went for a run prior to our date and had a key to his room that he had forgotten to bring. Needless to say, he shimmied his way through a tiny bathroom window and was still able to dress up nice and show up early to our date. His words: "I was not missing our date for nothing!" It was a good icebreaker to our night that's for sure! My baby niece, Genevieve, was born shortly a couple days after we intially started "talking" on the app. I remember expressing so much excitement to him about getting to meet my very first niece in the world! He not only remembered this part of our conversation but on our second date he showed up with a gift for me. Initially, I was like "oh no, this man brought me a gift already!" The gift was a shirt that said BAE on it: Best Auntie Ever! This truly touched me and showed me his intentionality and his great listening skills. He checked all the boxes I wanted in a man, a partner, a best friend and it scared the heck out of me! He never gave up on me and continued to pursue me even after: I chose disney with my bestfriend over spending a weekend with him and making him ask me to be his girlfriend I think three official times before I said yes! Whoops! He had to learn that over the phone does not count! Haha He took me as his wedding date shortly into us spending time together and it was a turning point for me. I knew I could not risk losing this wonderful man that embodied so many traits of being a loving partner. Ben also did not mess around! I was spending the summer in Arizona with my family and completing my first clinical rotation out there and he stuck out "long distance" for a little bit of time. He used that time to get my parent's blessing, bought my ring, and by the end of November 2021 he proposed! I told you he didn't mess around! We had a surreal peace that God was in our relationship from the start, heck before we even knew ourselves. We had prayed to find the right person that would challenge us, strengthen us, be a constant encourager to spend time with Jesus, and be a forever prayer partner. I know we are both so grateful that God joined us together and we cannot wait to share our beautiful day with you!