How They Met: It was a beautiful summer sunny Sunday in Pensacola. Ben and Aleacia were both invited to a goodbye brunch for a common friend at the Fish House. They both even ordered the same meal. Ben had to leave brunch early to go play volleyball on the beach and Aleacia stayed to finish bottomless mimosas. Sadly they did not get to meet and mingle, they only locked eyes. The brunch party moved on to Blend/WOB at the time to keep Sunday Funday alive. Aleacia was mingling as always when she realized that guy, Ben, had come back to the brunch group. He asked her to play cornhole and guaranteed that they would win. This did nothing for Aleacia and denied his request to play. She just wanted to hangout with her friends. Ben comes around another time to ask to play but offers her a round of drinks for playing. Aleacia says yes to a round and cornhole this time. They end up losing and getting a round inside. Aleacia noticed Ben even more when he ordered a Moscow Mule and not something boring. The brunch party wraps it up and everyone heads out to grab an early dinner at Tin Cow. Ben and Aleacia weren’t in the mood for Tin Cow. Aleacia invited Ben to walk over to Maritime Park to see a live band at Blues on the Bay to hangout with other friends. They had such a lovely time that Aleacia proceeded to invite Ben to walk over to see the Tall Ships that were in town. They walked all over downtown that evening and stayed up way too late just talking and laughing. They had their first kiss that night too. Ben invited her to dinner the next day. They never stopped hanging out after that one unforgettable brunch day. The Proposal from Aleacia’s Point of View: “HE said YES to tying the knot!” Now let’s take this proposal story a little further back in time. The idea of marriage all really started around Christmas 2023 in Ft. Lauderdale with my family. Ben was really loved by my family that trip and really embraced the Puerto Rican culture too. I made a couple of jokes while visiting that we should have a “big party” June 14, 2025 because it will be our 10th anniversary that day and it’s a Saturday. Of course Ben smiled and said sure. Fast forward to February 2024. I had my annual Sport and Social Industry Association conference and Ben was invited to join me. The destination was Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, an all inclusive resort, in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Here he got to meet all my favorite sports and social club family. Of course they all embraced and loved him too. Here we got to enjoy a beautiful resort with access to the beach, pools, music, restaurants, and casino. We even took a chartered boat cruise to see even more of the island’s amazing crystal clear waters. On our last day, we woke up early to catch the sunrise on the beach. We found two beach chairs and waited. This sunrise might have been the most spectacular one of them all. While Ben was looking toward the sunrise, I snuck out a small box. He looked over at me and the box. I opened the box. He looked stunned and confused. I then asked, “Will you tie the knot with me? I want to spend my life with you.” I pulled out 2 pieces of string. He took a moment to process and said “Yes, of course.” I tied one string on his ring finger and he tied the other one on mine. Now let’s celebrate and PARTY like it’s Flag Day 2025 y’all!