(In Nicole's words) Our relationship started the way most fairytales do: A quick conversation at a bar followed by a flurry of text messages. The day that Ben asked me on what could have been our first date, I had received some pretty life-altering news and declined on account of being a little bit of a basket case that day. After dodging a few more of his efforts, I let him know that I was not playing (and winning) an epic game of hard-to-get, but was walking through a pretty tough season with a very close friend. Ben then proceeded to send me a joke every single morning for the next two months in an effort to keep my spirits up. In mid-October I decided that this borderline stranger might be an okay guy, and so it all officially started one Thursday night over a few beers at Taco Mac. Très romantique.

A few days before Thanksgiving 2017 I boarded a flight home from a business trip with a list of things that needed to get done dancing around in my head. We were headed back out of town the next day to spend Thanksgiving with my family and needless to say "Get Engaged" was not on my list nor my radar on that particular day. Upon arriving home starved after a long day, Ben suggested that we walk up the street to grab some dinner before getting re-organized. We reached the top of the street and he led me to the square to see if the Christmas tree was decorated. After briefly admiring the lights, I set my sights on a glass of wine and some food and started to walk away when I realized that Ben was down on one knee. Let's all take a moment and thank God that he wasn't just tying his shoe because I said 'Yes!' before he even got a word in. Once I dried the happy tears and the shock wore off I realized that our families - whom I believed to be out of town - were watching from a patio nearby. There were more happy tears, a big family dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants and maybe a teeny bit too much champagne. It was the best!