We're Getting Married!

Ben: So yes, we met on Tinder. It's sort of a dorky and unorthodox way of meeting the love of your life, but I'm eternally grateful she swiped right on this mug. We got to talking, and discovered we had many mutual friends, lived a floor away from each other our freshman year, and were from opposite sides of Fort Wayne. It was right before Spring Break in our senior year at IU, so I was determined to meet her before she went off to Texas for a week and forgot about me. After a first date at Hartzell's Ice Cream in Bloomington, and a lot of begging as graduation neared, we decided to give the boyfriend/girlfriend thing a shot. Melanie: What he said.... except I think the Tinder thing is amazing. I tell everyone I know (except my grandma, until now). I had a crisis with a client on the day of our first date & was late to meet him. Like, almost an hour kind of late. We hit it off instantly and didn't stop talking from there on out... I was in a #StrongSingleWoman phase & tried to pretend I wasn't into him... Obviously we all know how that worked out.

Ben: I found myself heading to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for my first job out of college, and I asked Melanie to make the move with me. I headed out first, and she joined me at the New Year. We settled in Missouri just long enough for me to decide I hated my job and we began looking at ways to move closer to home. In January of 2018 she moved across states for me *again* when I found my current job in Goshen. She has been so accommodating and supportive with the moves, and I'm incredibly fortunate! Melanie: When he said "Wanna move to Cape Girardeau, Missouri?" I instantly googled "Target" and "Chick-fil-a" .... Lucky for him, Cape Girardeau had both. I loved it there, but I did not love the 8.5 hour drives back to Indiana or our tiny studio apartment. It was a wonderful little chapter but ultimately not our forever location. Ben wasn't happy at his job, so it was time for a change. When he proposed Goshen, I googled Target & Chick-Fil-a again and said, "Eh, why not?"

Ben: 2018 was easily the happiest year in recent memory. I found my footing in Goshen, we adopted our first dog together, and probably the happiest of all, I asked Melanie to marry me. We had been meaning to go back to Bloomington for a while, so when we planned a trip one weekend in the summer, I knew it would be the perfect chance to propose. I worked ever-so secretly with her sister to arrange a manicure so Melanie's nails would be perfect for the photos later, and she helped me hide the ring until I was ready to drop to a knee outside Hartzell's, where we had our first date. Ever since she said yes, it has been a whirlwind getting our wedding planned! Melanie: We are so happy to be back in Indiana. We adopted an ornery little fur-ball, Fox & life is good being closer to family again. Ben kept me on my toes as I (not all that) patiently waited for a proposal that many of you constantly reminded him he owed me after two moves (he didn't actually owe me, but thanks ya'll). As we were planning our trip to Bloomington, Ben made it clear that a proposal would NOT be happening that weekend. Despite this, I still had my hopes up... especially when we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant overlooking a lake. When the proposal did not happen that night I resigned my efforts, realizing it truly wasn't going to happen. The next morning we went kayaking and got lunch with my sister & her husband. We got caught in a torrential downpour as we entered the ice cream shop where we had our first date. I was cold and the thought of a proposal hadn't crossed my mind all day... Suddenly, Ben starts getting all mushy and got down on one knee... & you wouldn't be reading this right now if I hadn't said YES!