Two transplants find love in Florida - just a small town Jersey girl meets a southern Texas boy. They took the midnight (love) train going annnywheereee! Oh wait, wrong love story... Though their hometowns are a whopping 25 hours apart, they both landed in downtown Fort Lauderdale across the river from each other, only a 10 min walk away. Their first date was at one of Ben’s favorite watering holes, SALT, but there was nothing salty about this first encounter. Minutes effortlessly turned into hours on their first date and all the dates that followed, with endless laughter and good vibes flowing, and chats about life and partner aspirations. Kari & Ben also instantly bonded over their love/obsession for their furry sidekicks, Kona and Jorge, who went everywhere with them, and soon they became a family unit. They wish Jorge could celebrate this moment with them more than anything and miss him dearly. A bittersweet year, they recently added one to their wolfpack, and adopted a Frenchie, Tino. By their big day, they’ll have been to 12 weddings together and taken over 20 trips together from Greece to Mexico to Costa Rica (more on that later). Until then, you can find them around Fort Lauderdale or The ‘Dale (doll-ay) as they like to call it, trying every waterfront view, spicy marg, espressotini, and fish dip in town. ~THE PROPOSAL~ Costa Rica was high on Kari’s travel list and they planned to go to celebrate Kari’s birthday. Ben told Kari a few weeks before that they had to go to a work dinner with his colleagues the night before their trip. When the time came, in true Kari fashion, she hadn’t packed yet or even started laundry. She said "Can we just go for an hour?" Little did she know, this was NOT a work dinner. Ben set up a stunning display of candles, flowers, and photos at a rooftop bar overlooking the city and they could even see their apartment. Close family & friends joined after, and Ben won major brownie points flying in her BFF/maid of honor, Niki, and her mom, Amy aka Momma VT. Just in case Kari saw any texts come through, Ben sneakily named the surprise crew group chat "Sports and stuff” as he’s in too many fantasy leagues, so what would be one more? (With dozens of events under her belt being in PR, Kari was very proud of Ben that he planned his first big event without a hitch, sooo they could get hitched.) They celebrated the next few days with gorgeous views, jungle hikes, monkeys, and good food! They can’t wait to celebrate the next chapter of their love story with you!