It was June of 2023, Ben was living in Northside of Richmond, and I was in the West End of Henrico. One evening after some hype from my friends, I decided to add Ben on Facebook and then proceed to message him as soon as he accepted. I bravely messaged telling him he was super hot and I wanted to go on a date with him. The first night Ben and I hung out, we doordashed Slay Burger and a huge ice cream cake. Ben was such a gentleman and let me choose what we would watch on TV. Naturally, I chose Taylor Swifts Live Reputation Stadium tour on Netflix. This was back when that was on Netflix. Ben sat through the entire 2 hour performance and never once complained when I explained every single song and the lore behind each track. We hung out once and following that first date, we were inseparable. My days revolved around daydreaming about a future with this guy I had just met. Most of my friends at the time thought this was just going to be a phase. We continued to live in the moment. Then tragedy struck my family and we lost my older sister Samantha in August of 2023. Along with a major spinal surgery I had to have suddenly, the same week as her passing. Following these traumatic events, any sane person after dating a couple months, would say hey this is too much. Ben never once hesitated to jump in and help support not only myself but my family. He would comfort my parents and help do their dishes, take the trash out, take the trash can in from the curb, and try to help free them of the everyday burdens that become extra heavy. Throughout our healing process, Bens love for all of us never faltered. He accepted my daughter as his own, and continues to each and every day. Ben and I have been together coming up on three years, and four years by the time the wedding rolls around. Through these years, we have loved many different versions of each other, and through each version our love becomes stronger. We cannot wait to celebrate our love and joining of family & friends in October 2027!!