Ben and Shannon started their freshmen year at Slippery Rock University in the Fall of 2010 and were introduced to each other through friends that November. From that night on, Shannon and Ben got to know each other and grew closer until Ben asked Shannon to be his girlfriend on February 14, 2011. In the 9 years that followed after Shannon and Ben fell in love, got their college and graduate degrees, in Special Education and Physical Therapy respectively, and moved into their new apartment in Lawrenceville, Ben got a ring and made plans to propose. Ben told Shannon a friend wanted to take pictures of them for fun at their local park, Arsenal Park, so she would dress up not knowing what was to come. On May 18, 2019, Shannon and Ben walked over to the park and when they arrived, Ben nervously looked down at his phone telling Shannon he was seeing if their friend was there yet then put his phone back in his pocket and slowly pulled out the ring as he got down on one knee and asked Shannon to marry him to the sound of a camera shutter heard in the distance capturing the best day of their lives. After a mini engagement photoshoot, they walked back to their apartment while Shannon was trying to call her family with the good news but oddly they weren't picking up. Shannon noted this to Ben when they were walking into their apartment and down the hall just before turning the corner to see Shannon and Ben’s entire family all waiting to surprise the newly engaged couple. We can't wait to spend our wedding day surrounded by all the people we love most in the city we love most, Pittsburgh, PA