Ben and Emily (or, as many know her, Emmie) met when they were both students in the dance program at Butler University. Sparks did not fly instantly, but instead, they became close friends over time. They were both of the mindset that dating another dancer was not for them, but eventually, one thing led to another and they ended up dating (secretly) through the end of Emmie's senior year. Ben still had two more years of school left, and Emmie was headed across the country to start her dance career in San Diego. The thought of carrying out a long-distance relationship was daunting and not something that either Ben or Emmie were super excited about doing, but at that point, Ben dispensed some life-changing wisdom that he did not recognize at the time. He said, "It would be stupid not to try," and Emmie couldn't really argue with that, so try they did, and it just kept working. More than five years later, they're still going strong.

Ben insisted for some reason on heading out on a weekend trip to Indianapolis. We brought our lovely but psychotic rescue dog, Helen, along with us. Emmie was already suspicious because a few weeks prior Ben had informed her he was "going to run errands, don't check my location." He really could have just said he was going to Lowe's... but we digress. On the way to the supposed AirBnb location, Emmie realized that they were actually heading towards the Butler University campus. Her suspicion increased when Ben said, "I must have accidentally navigated us to campus, but since we are here, let's go on a walk with Helen!" Emmie's suspicions disappeared because the aforementioned creature is known to be a bit of a terror on walks. Despite months of training and hard work to improve her leash skills, we don't walk Helen, Helen walks us. No WAY would Ben propose with Helen tugging us along! We climbed up the steps of the legendary bell tower on Butler's campus. Legend says that if you kiss someone at the top of the bell tower, you'll someday marry them. Emmie was once again feeling a little suspicious. Sure enough, once at the top, Ben got down on one knee and proposed (with his face mask on because these were times in the depths of COVID and he forgot to take it off). Just then, Helen spotted our dear friend Kevin, who (along with his lovely wife Katie) was hiding behind a pillar trying to document the event. Naturally, Helen charged at him, nearly knocking Ben off his one-knee stance. Thanks to years of ballet training and a strong core, Ben managed to stay upright and finish his proposal. Emmie said yes, and Helen moved on to yelling at all the ducks on the pond. All in all, a very ENGAGING day.