Bennett and Allie met due to some dear friends of their parents. Bennett's mom and Allie's dad both went to Rocky Mount Senior High School. Allie's dad was good friends with Joe Langston, and kept in touch with him over the years. Bennett's mom became good friends with Brigitte Langston while working at the hospital in Rocky Mount. When Allie's dad visited with Brigitte and Joe Langston a few years ago, the Langstons mentioned their friend, Lee Bailey, had a son who was living in Greenville, SC, just like Allie. They said Bennett was new to the area and didn't really know anyone there. They asked if Allie would be willing to meet him and introduce him to some friends. Of course, Allie agreed. And through some persistence on behalf of Brigitte Langston, Allie and Bennett became Facebook friends. Shortly thereafter, the two met in person at Downtown Alive in NOMA square in Greenville. They enjoyed a night out on the town getting to know each other. Allie was excited to have a new friend.

Allie was dating someone else at the time she and Bennett met, and student teaching was about to start, so Bennett was nothing more than a friend to her. Bennett and Allie planned to hang out few times so that Bennett could meet more people. They planned to go to a Brad Paisley concert. However, none of their friends or siblings could go to the concert. The two went together anyway. They had a blast together! But Allie made it clear that the only committed relationship she was interested in was with school. Bennett got the hint that he and Allie would only be friends. A month or so went by, and Bennett began pursuing other people. For some reason, Allie was really upset about that. That's when she realized that maybe Bennett was more than a friend. Maybe she didn't have to wait until student teaching was over to have time for someone. She approached Bennett about it. Two weeks later, Bennett took Allie to Renzo's in Hendersonville, NC for their first date. And after that, the rest is history!!

Bennett got together with Allie's friend Christy, and her husband, Chris, and planned for them to be there to capture the big moment. The original plan was to meet Chris and Christy at NOMA square, where Bennett and Allie first met, and do the proposal there. However, it was loud and crowded due to a festival. Chris and Christy ended up meeting Allie and Bennett at Passerelle's restaurant by the Liberty Bridge. The two couples "went for a walk" on the bridge. Christy directed Bennett and Allie to "pose for a picture" in which moment, Bennett got down on one knee and asked Allie to marry him. Allie was so shocked and happy!! Christy captured several in-the-moment pictures of the proposal. And Chris got a video of the whole thing! The pictures on the Save the Date and on this website are authentic pictures taken by Christy during the proposal. We are so grateful for the Mullaneys and all that they did that day!! Now we can relive that moment forever <3