The story of how a common love of music, beer, the midwest, and weather bind two hearts.

An ordinary airport shuttle in Washington, DC picks up two students on their way to an orientation for a scholarship program. Ben was sitting in the seat behind Nicole, and she turned around to talk to him. They quickly discovered that they both liked an obscure Metal band and became friends, but didn’t have a chance to strengthen their friendship until nearly a year later while they were both living in Florida for internships.

Things were put on hold, until several friends from the scholarship program agreed to spend their winter breaks in Columbia, MO, where Ben attended the University of Missouri. Nicole was so nervous to see Ben again that she booked her flights to leave 2 days before the rest of the group. Once they realized that becoming a pair was inevitable, each friend pitched in $20 to help Nicole buy a new plane ticket and stay later. It was on one of those “extra” days that Ben and Nicole went on their first official date.

We look forward to Nicole & Ben’s wedding in St Louis at 9th Street Abbey this fall. We were thrilled that Nicole & Ben wanted to take their engagement photos in Nicole’s home city, Cleveland. We love to take advantage of every opportunity to travel, especially places we’ve never been to before.  It was a perfect weekend  to get acquainted with the quaint streets of Ohio City and the brisk breeze off of Lake Erie. Cleveland, I hope to see you again.

Be sure to check out Nicole & Ben’s wedding journey on her blog, Between the Married and Me.

xoxo D&A

What Nicole loves about Ben: An Eagle Scout, Ben always does the right thing. He stops at nothing to achieve his goals and makes me want to be a better person every day. Being with Ben is effortless and we keep each other laughing.

What Ben loves about Nicole: Nicole was the first girlfriend that I could ever listen to “my” music in the car with. I love her assertiveness and her ability to take charge of a situation. Most of all, I love her independence. I love that she doesn’t need me to have an awesome life, but she has chosen to spend her life with me anyway.

Nicole: I knew long before we started dating that if we ever became a couple, there was a good chance that that relationship would be a lasting one. Despite being long-distance friends who had only spent a total of 2 weeks together, I still felt drawn to him in a way that I had never felt for anyone else. Yet, we are both so pragmatic that we worried about subjecting a new relationship to the stress of living 500 miles apart and avoided dating for several months. When I saw Ben get out of the car to pick me up from the airport that winter break, time seemed to stand still and I knew that we would spend our lives together without ever looking back.

Ben: I had an idea that Nicole was special after a trip to the Warped Tour in West Palm Beach and then to Miami, where she was completing an internship (I was completing a similar internship a few hours up the road in Melbourne, FL). From then on, the more we interacted, the more apparent it became that she was the one. The best way I can describe that I know she is the one is that I can’t imagine my life without her.