It was a warm, sunny day on the 4th of May in 2018 when Marin and Ben met. Marin was a beautiful bridesmaid at the wedding of Jameson (Marin's brother, aka Jamo) and Sarah Parsons and Ben was one of the many attendees. Ben was one of Jamo's teammates for the SCSU Huskies football team (RIP) and they even lived together for a brief 6-month period at the end of their tenure as Huskies. The wedding took place at the Hutton House and was full of friends and family who came to support and see the holy matrimony of two amazing creatures of God. A posse of former Huskies that included Ben arrived at the scene before the ceremony. As the ceremony began the bridesmaids and groomsmen made their way down the aisle and although they all looked great, one stood out in particular to Ben- Marin. This covetous moment lasted only but a second since Marin was Jamo's sister and family members of friends are off limits. After the ceremony, cocktail hour ensued, and the guests mingled and shared their congratulations with the couple before being seated for dinner and the reception. Ben was seated at a table with Hutch (Ben's Best Man) and the venue’s staff mistakenly left a bottle of red near the table. It was this red wine that loosened up Ben's creaky old knees enough to hit the dance floor with Mr. Bob Rada. The duo's entrance to the floor largely consisted of the popular "Shoot" dance move which caught the eye of Marin. Moments later Marin was flocking to Ben to ask him about his moves. Conversation proceeded and Ben only mispronounced Marin’s name ~4 times (which she decided to look past since he was cute). Ben told Marin that night on the dance floor that sisters of friends are outside respected boundaries for flirting or dating, but she insisted that her mom, Janet, supported the potential. After the wedding, Ben asked Jamo for his blessing to take Marin on a date and Jamo requested Christ be put first in the relationship and from then on, life couldn't have been better.

Marin and Ben had been dating for almost two years. March of 2020 brought the onset of lockdowns and quarantine. Janet (Mother of the Bride) came up with the idea to have weekly family Bible studies on Sundays to help the family stay connected and prayerful during the unprecedented times we were beginning to face. On March 29th, 2020, Marin, Ben, Bryn (sister of the bride) and Bryn’s husband Luke hosted the Bible study at the home they were all living in at the time. This was one of the last Bible studies the family had before Jamo and Sarah left for Turkey, where Sarah would play volleyball in Bursa. After a meaningful time of devotions, prayer and reflection, the family decided to relax with some games. Most didn’t have work to return to the next day for the first time in a while. They made some drinks and taught Mom and Dad Parsons how to play beer pong and “flippy cup.” Times were tough as no one knew what to expect in the coming days, but moments like this reminded us what a blessing family was. Jim (Father of the Bride) noted that he “needed something to celebrate” while pouring a glass of Crown. Ben and his spontaneous nature took that as his cue. This was his moment. He snuck away to his bedroom to grab the ring box that he had picked up at the jewelry store a mere 3 days before. The family played another round of flippy cup where Ben and Marin were the anchors and last to go. After finishing the round, Ben whipped the ring box out onto the table and landed on one knee. Marin heard Bryn scream and saw the box on the table. Things started to faze in and out for Marin. She asked Ben, “is this for real?!” Ben gave his proposal speech, and the celebrations began. It was a completely raw moment as Marin had not gotten ready at all that day, in true quarantine fashion, but being surrounded by family during the start of a pandemic made the moment completely memorable.