Ben and I went to the same college. We had many of the same friends, went to the same parties, attended a lot of the same shows, one of his groomsmen even lived in the same house as I did for a bit. Despite all of this, we were never actually introduced. I graduated from UNCG in May 2009 and moved to Wilmington for an internship. A couple months later I was walking on the beach by myself and ran into Ben and a group of his guy friends, who I knew. I stopped to chat for a bit. Ben and I were still not introduced, nor did we speak directly to each other. That evening, or maybe the next, after a bit of liquid courage I wrote on Ben’s facebook wall, “you live in wilmington. i live in wilmington. we should totally hang out!” That was July 9th, 2009. He finally responded via a Facebook message on July 24th, 2009. By then, “I was totally over him, he thinks he is so cool!” Fast forward to late December 2010… I was at my usual spot, the Soapbox, doing my usual thing, playing ping pong, when Ben skateboarded in. This was my chance! We played a few rounds of ping pong, we exchanged numbers and my world was forever changed.

I love New Years Eve. It's hands down my favorite holiday. A festive time of renewal, a fresh start and the celebration of better things to come. Courtney and I hold a special place in our hearts for it as it's where our journey together began. I always thought a News Years Eve proposal would be a beautiful gesture. Starting our next chapter like it began. Full Circle! Since moving to our house on Bancroft Ave we have hosted a large New Years Eve party for our friends and loved ones.We go all out for it with lots of decorations, champagne, and food. We even clear all the furniture from the living room transforming it into the perfect dance floor. For the past year I had rehearsed it in my head all going down in the living room/dance floor. My plan was to propose at Midnight while the rest of the party was "ringing it in" I didn't anticipate that ten minutes before midnight Courtney was going to give an inspired toast to everyone in attendance at the top of our spiral staircase. I was in the back of the kitchen looking up with everyone else as she graciously thanked everyone for attending. Lost in awe at her sincere words and beauty. I found myself being gently pushed towards her with whispers of " do it now! Now! Go! " in my ears. I walked through the crowd to the bottom of the staircase, pulled the ring out of my pocket and ascended the stairs toward her. We locked tearful eyes and I asked " Courtney Ashton Clara Brooks will you be my wife? She sat down in shock nodding "yes". We kissed to the applause and cheers of our loving friends.