It's a match! We are a Tinder success story whose love was ignited amidst the aisles of Kramer's bookstore and the Dupont Farmer's Market in Washington, DC. We immediately felt a deep connection and proceeded to spend nearly every day together until Ben moved to Australia to work for two years, putting the new relationship to the test. Well, turns out this steam train of a connection had too much momentum for a few measly obstacles like "18 months apart" and "a 14 hour time difference." Having conquered the spatiotemporal challenges of a long distance relationship, we decided to up the ante and actually live together in the most perilous region of the world: Florida. With Karen starting a new career in nursing, we started to build a life together that we want to invite you to celebrate with us!

Ben had a work trip planned to Barbados which Karen was able to crash, and we both extended a few days to enjoy all the rum, marlin, beaches, and caves that the beautiful (and tiny) country offers. Midway through our little holiday, Ben suggested we take a walk on a scenic boardwalk before a planned dinner. However, on this particular occasion Ben was so particularly clumsy and frazzled (couldn't figure out how to make change for the taxi, repeatedly dropping phone and wallet) that Karen was genuinely worried that he had suffered some kind of minor stroke. Fortunately, this was only an acute condition brought on by the reality that Ben had a ring in his pocket and an intention to change both of our lives forever. On the beach in the sand besides that boardwalk, Ben got on one knee and said some things that neither of us can remember, but which culminated with "will you marry me?" She said yes! Shortly thereafter a hidden photographer revealed themselves and we had an impromptu photo session, some of those pictures can be seen on the above slideshow. That started us on a path to our special day planned for May 3, 2024, and we can't wait to celebrate it with you!