we're getting hitched!

Jessee and Benson sort of met through a dating app, but also sort of met through Instagram. Jessee had her Instagram page linked to her profile, and when they hadn't yet matched on the app, Benson took it upon himself to message her on Instagram. Initially, Jessee wasn't sure if it was a little creepy or kind of cute, but, here we are! To deter anyone away who wasn't at least 6'2", she had written in her Tinder profile "probably taller than you," so Benson led with some opening line about being really tall. They chatted for a few weeks, and finally met in person for their first date at Threadgill's (RIP). Afterwards, they took a walk down South Congress because neither of them wanted the date to be over.

It was right around Benson's birthday and he planned a socially distanced get-together at Loro. It had been raining a lot of the week - Benson was stressed and played it off to Jessee as work related, but was secretly really worried about how the night would pan out (since the plan was to be outdoors at the restaurant). The day came and it was raining until the afternoon. Because of the weather, Benson had people texting him all day if it was still on. Luckily, the weather cleared up and he let everyone know that the party was still happening. When it was time to leave for Loro, Benson asked Jessee to drive since he had to text a lot of people (aka was coordinating what was to come). Our friends Skye and Melissa were in on it, so that Melissa could photograph it (thank you so much, Melissa!!). Everyone invited also knew - Benson made sure to tell people that it was going to be a (hint-hint) extra special occasion, and most people seemed to understand. Jessee's parents were on the fence about coming somewhere with so many people (because of COVID-19), but Skye urged them to come and that they wouldn't want to miss it. They knew for months that he had a ring, but didn't necessarily know when he was going to propose until Skye convinced them to come. Jessee had been wondering if he was going to do it later that same weekend, because we were going on a short trip with Skye and Melissa, and Melissa regularly photographs proposals. It didn't quite cross her mind that he would do it that night of his party, because she would never have expected him to do it in a public way! Once everyone was there, he gathered the group to say a couple words/thank everyone for coming/etc, and Jessee's parents had her sister watching on FaceTime. Then he motioned for Jessee to come over to him, said some things that she can't remember, and dropped to his knee to propose.

If you can't make it, we would LOVE to have you tune in for the ceremony via a livestream, beginning at 4:55 pm CST - https://wedding.lovestream.io/jesseeandbenson