08.09.25

During my senior year at Marist, my roommate & one of my best friends Julie, dared me to go on three dates during the fall semester (clearly due to my lack of dating life- hahaha). Well, Ben & I both swiped right on Bumble & he was the first of my dates that I was going to be going on that semester. Well... we all know how that turned out :) For our first date, we met at the library (my favorite place, of course) and walked over to Giacomos where we realized that we had a lot in common (we both had just lived in different states for summer internships, we both were very picky eaters, we both had two siblings) and had a great lunch where we hung out and talked for more than two hours. I did think that he hated me when he said he had to leave to go do homework for class later that night (who waits until the day of to do homework due that night?! ;)) But, by the next week, we were hanging out almost every day after classes, and on October 26th, he officially asked me to be his girlfriend right before the Halloween party at his frat! Over the next 6 months, we somehow managed to hang out almost everyday (while I was completing 2 capping projects and my hardest semester at school ever, but no biggie) and by the time I graduated we decided we were going to do long distance. A couple of weeks later at the Ke$ha concert (s/o to Shelly!) he told me he loved me for the first time while Your Love is My Drug played, which I of course didn't hear because I am deaf, but he then told me again later that night, and I was so excited because I had loved him from the very first time I met him. Over the next two years, through COVID & quarantining, and all the craziness that surrounded it, we still saw each other at least 1-2 days a week, and when Ben got his job at Capital One, we decided to move to Richmond for two years. Not only did we survive for 2 years, both working from home, hundreds of miles away from our family and friends, but our love grew and I knew that there was no one I would rather spend the rest of my life with. When Nico joined our household, we felt even more like a family and seeing how much Ben loved him made me so happy every day! Moving back to Connecticut was another major milestone in our relationship, and I gave him some (not-so-subtle) hints that I had been prepping for our wedding for my whole life and whenever he wanted to propose would be great for me :) He somehow was able to plan a secret proposal (the proposal & ring of my dreams) for 9 months without me knowing, in coordination with Melissa, Becca & Julie (who did a very great job of making sure that I didn't find out!) I couldn't be more excited to marry my best friend :)

Jen & I met on Bumble, and after meeting up in the library, we went on our first date to Giacomo's. For our next date, we watched a movie, and it was Hush, a horror movie; turns out I hate horror movies, but Jen didn't know that and I didn't want her to think I was lame. Despite being scared by the movie, after a couple of more dates, I decided to ask Jen to be my girlfriend, right before Halloween weekend! That weekend, we told all of our friends we were officially dating, and Jen and her friends came to one of our fraternity parties. After that, I asked her to go to my formal with me where we both shared some drinks, & partied (probably a bit too hard). I met her parents early the next spring during a lunch at Cosimo's and started things off on the right foot. But, during her graduation, Melissa recognized me from Instagram and I was drinking with my friends and accidentally called Dave my coach (thinking he was my hockey coach) which lives in infamy and he will never let me let it down. That summer, right after graduation, we went to a Ke$ha concert together, and I said “I love you” for the first time to “Your love in my drug,” which, in retrospect probably wasn’t the best idea since Jen couldn’t hear me at all and said “WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY?” But I later clarified that I had, indeed told her I loved her. After Jen graduated, she would visit me at Sunset weekly which was great! And then, COVID happened. Through all the craziness, Jen & I were separated for 6 weeks, and it was during that time I realized how much I loved being with her. Then, nearing my graduation, I got a job at Capital One (which Jen helped me get) & I asked her if she would move to Richmond with me, and she did! We then got our bestfriend, Nico, and we spent a lot of time together as a family where our love matured. In 2023, we moved back to CT to be closer to both of our families, and then shortly thereafter, on a trip to Italy, I knew that she was the one & I decided I was going to propose. And 9 months later, after a lot of thought & work, I asked her to marry me at Marist where we first met, and she said yes!