Ben's Side of the Story Back in December of 2019, my band was looking for a guitarist. Through a mutual friend, we were introduced to this cellist who rocked an acoustic guitar and loved our kind of music. I remember the first thing I thought when I opened the door and saw her for the first time was, “Oh crap, she’s cute.” Abby's Side of the Story One day during our senior year of high school, I was put in a group chat with some random Belen guys who wanted to start a classic rock band and had me as a candidate to play electric guitar. Everyone in the chat sent long introductions except one who simply said: “Ben - bass.” That’s when I knew whoever this Ben guy was, must be a unique breed of Miami boy. Not long after, I met Ben right on his front doorstep, with a cello in one hand and a guitar in the other. I remember him opening the door and seeing him for the first time, expecting the normal Miami greeting, but instead, I was immediately led to the music room of his house, where I met the rest of the band. What started as a Led Zeppelin jam session somehow ended in playing The Beatles, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, etc.… Ben, seeing that everyone was getting hungry after playing for so long, offered a food option that would later be recognized as his specialty, and my favorite creation, burgers. I like to call them “Ben’s Burgers.” If the night couldn’t get any better, he then said: “I have a proposition… I can make cookies.” It was at that very moment I knew Mr. “Ben - bass” could be a potential suitor. Not long after, I asked when we could meet to play again. Turns out, we never really stopped playing music together.

Ben's Side of the Story In 2020, after a couple of months playing music, we were stuck in our separate houses due to COVID. Abby and I started texting every day, hoping we would get to play again sooner or later. We eventually graduated and she went off to Gainesville while I stayed in Miami. We continued talking every day until the winter of 2021, when we finally admitted that we liked one another through FaceTime. From there, we started doing long distance with our first real date being in April of 2021. We became boyfriend and girlfriend a month later. After four years of being together, mostly doing long distance, I proposed at Shenandoah National Park on July 18th, 2025. I love my future wife more than anything and can't wait to celebrate with you all. Abby's Side of the Story After countless band practices, Guitar Center runs, and Wayside shake hangouts, I started seeing Ben as more than just a bandmate - and if you’d asked my SAS classmates back then, they would’ve told you I couldn’t stop talking about him. As prom got closer, the pandemic hit, and senior year was cut short before he ever got the chance to ask me. Even though the rest of senior year and the start of college didn’t go the way we imagined, we never stopped talking. What started as conversations about our favorite bands and the Miami Heat ,turned into a friendship that carried us through the pandemic. One spring night during my freshman year at UF, we FaceTimed and finally admitted we’d both liked each other, and that’s when he asked me on our first date. On April 3, 2021, we had our first date, a beach picnic in Key Biscayne, complete with guitar playing; a full-circle moment we recreated in our engagement photos. From there, we did long distance between Miami and Gainesville until I graduated in 2023 and we finally got to live in the same city - the one where it all started. We began doing long distance once more when he went to dental school in Virginia, but this December, we’re closing that chapter for good. I cannot wait to marry Ben and celebrate with all of you!