#BenandEmtoBitterEnd

Emily and Ben met in the heart of Kennebunkport at Alisson's Restaurant during the 2012 Thanksgiving holiday. After this brief encounter, Ben returned to his career in the yachting world and Emily back to Bates to finish her senior thesis. They reconnected in the summer, just weeks before Emily embarked on a year long Fulbright teaching grant in Bulgaria. Navigating transatlantic dating, Ben plotted a course to visit Emily by joining ships that were Europe-bound. The pair got to know each other as they walked along the Seine, through Madrid's plazas, and over the hilltops of the Rhodope Mountains. When Emily returned to Maine and began her teaching career at Kennebunk High School, Ben shipped out to the Persian Gulf. Their long distance relationship rolled on until, at last, Ben landed a shore-side career in Global Risk Management in Spring 2015. The two have since been living in Kennebunkport together. Ben proposed in December 2017 at The Royal Observatory in London, which marks the Prime Meridian and the beginning of Greenwich Mean Time. Emily said yes! and the two vowed to let no ocean keep them apart until the bitter end. The bitter end is a nautical term referring to the very end of the rope, which captures Ben and Emily's commitment to each other. #BenandEmtoBitterEnd