Chelsey: We met on a blind date that I kept putting off out of fear of meeting a complete stranger! I finally found my courage & we went to Loflin Yard for dinner, drinks, & games. I remember thinking he was even cuter in person than in the pictures I had seen! And he was so personable & funny that it didn't feel like it was our first time meeting. He didn’t judge me for being terrible at Tiki Toss & I didn’t judge him for ordering corn on the cob on a first date. We had so much fun that my cheeks were sore from smiling so much! And Ben has pretty much kept me smiling ever since! Ben: Back in my concert band days, our conductor always stressed to us that the most important part of the composition was the final note because that’s the one people really remember. Thankfully for me, this applies to first dates as well! After getting Chelsey’s number, it took much longer than anticipated to finally get a first date with her and I even had to deal with a day-of date cancelation (enough to usually send me packing). But nevertheless, I finally got her to commit to a dinner at one of my favorite restaurants/bars – Loflin Yard. I was stressed enough at the thought of a blind date, but seeing how beautiful she looked when I picked her up only added to it! After picking the worst radio station to listen to in the car, ordering corn on the cobb, asking the waitress to get her a “rose” wine instead of a “rosé”, and accidentally eating (and swallowing without making a face) a lemon that was secretly tucked inside my rainbow trout dinner, I was sure this was turning out to be a disaster. Feeling as though I was making a fool of myself, I drew up all my courage and made one big bet; “If I ring this Tiki Toss in less than 5 tries, you owe me a kiss.” Turning the color of her rosé, she agreed. Two tosses later, I got our first kiss. Still the most clutch moment of my life.

Chelsey: We were vacationing in Charleston, SC & having the best time exploring the city! On the way to dinner one evening, we stopped to walk through the gardens at Magnolia Plantation. We were strolling along the path, enjoying the scenery, when we came upon this gorgeous white bridge right in the middle of Big Cypress Lake. It was beautiful! I stopped just before the bridge to take a picture & noticed a woman standing at the other end of the bridge. I remember complaining to Ben that she was in my picture! We walked across the bridge, stopping right in the middle to admire the view. There, Ben told me how much he loved me, got down on one knee, & asked me to marry him! It was the most beautiful proposal in the most beautiful place! And to top it off, that woman who was in my picture was actually a photographer that Ben had hired to capture the whole thing! Ben: Chelsey will talk about how well planned & thought out the proposal was, but in reality it was the culmination of procrastination, chaotic scrambling, & divine intervention. The Charleston trip came up way faster than I expected & before I knew it, it was a week away & all I had was a ring! Still not worried, I researched locations & found the spot: Magnolia Gardens on “the big white bridge.” My next step was the photographer- this is when chaos ensued. Email after email, all the photographers I found were booked. I knew how much Chelsey cherished pictures for memories, so deciding to do without was not an option. Finally, two days before our trip I found the perfect photographer! After a few rain delays & pushing the proposal back from Saturday, to Sunday, to Monday, I finally got to surprise my beautiful fiancé. I honestly have no idea what I said or if she even said yes, it was such a whirlwind! But she’s still hanging around, so I’m taking that as a good sign. I truly am the luckiest man alive to have her.

We will be married on June 3, 2018 in a private ceremony in Columbia, TN. We are so excited to celebrate this next chapter in our lives with you!