Ben and I swiped right in December of 2014. We were chatting for a few days and finally I learned he didn't live in Colorado. He said I was a 'cool girl' so he gave me his number to text him outside Tinder. I told him to call me if he ever moved to Colorado, and didn't think another thing of it. In April of 2015, I'm still on Tinder, swiping through and I see Ben's profile again. My instant thought was that he had deleted our match and my sassy self wasn't going to take that (I mean, he was pretty cute). I texted him, "So you moved to Colorado?" He responded and was glad I reached out because he had deleted his Tinder profile and couldn't find my number. A likely story. It took over a month, but we finally had a day to meet up. I was getting nervous that Ben was going to ditch me because I hadn't heard from him all day. I had my friend Samuel take me to the office, and told him I didn't care if this guy ditched me, I'll just get a few things done at work, so no harm no foul. About 10 minutes before we are to meet up, Ben calls me. This is it, he is calling to ditch out-- at least he called, right? Turns out he was just parking and needed directions to the Viewhouse. I see him. A 6'4" 25 year old who was wearing New Balance shoes and a weird polo with golfers all over. It was the first of many times Ben would bring a smile to my face. We grabbed a couple of whiskey cokes, sat by the window with the rain pouring down and the rest is history. Ben is the best person I know. He is intelligent, protective, caring, hilarious and he loves me unconditionally. His love for God, his family and friends is inspiring. He helps me to be the best version of myself, and I couldn't ask for a better person to go through life with. I'm so glad we swiped right.

Emma and I matched on a dating app, and it was prior to me living in Colorado. I had actually been 'swiping' as I was in town for my Grandpa's funeral and managed to match with Emma (the one bright spot of the trip!). Since I was looking to move to a new city, I knew Colorado was on my short list and wanted to make it a reality. Fast forward a few months, and I'd started a job in Eastern Denver and had my own place in Thornton - Emma reached out to me and we arranged a date downtown on May 23rd! I will never forget seeing her smile on the corner of whatever street it was we first met. Our first conversations at the View House were even more refreshing than the whiskey/cokes we were drinking - this girl had a happiness and enthusiasm for life I fell in love with much faster than I was prepared for. The knee brace she was wearing after her 400th knee surgery wasn't going to stop her from anything - she even met me out at a house music event later that night (great music - weird crowd) - this girl was so easy to hang out with! I'll steal a quote from author John Green: "I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once." Her enthusiasm hasn't changed and she has become my best friend. When a challenge in life presents itself, her lovingness, empathy, energy, and smile help us perservere. She leaves a wake of joy wherever she goes. I love her to smithereens and can't wait for the rest of our lives as husband and wife.

It was a gloomy morning and we were getting ready to go to the zoo for a company outing. Ben had jeans and a polo on, and grabbed his Northface jacket. Instead of asking why he was prepared for a winter storm, I followed suit and wore jeans and a sweater. It was 75 degrees by the time we arrived at the zoo. We are members of the zoo, and since we had extra tickets we invited our friends Manor and Dakota to come along for the day. As we approach the elephant exhibit, we see Billy the elephant outside. Ben asks me to take a picture, which confused me because we never take photos, but I went along with it. A photo is snapped, and then Ben takes me by both hands. "I love you," is all I can remember before seeing him down on one knee and being so overjoyed. It was the happiest moment of my life and I could barely form the word yes before jumping to give him a hug. The day was a dream and our best friends captured the moment perfectly. As if this wasn't enough to make my heart soar, the zoo keepers had over heard our news. He congratulated us, and then asked if we wanted to meet Billy! We proceeded to feed Billy carrots and celery, snap a few photos, and put the cherry on top of the most amazing engagement cake.