Weddingbee bios

We're just a couple of goofy, nerdy best friends trying to survive the Boston winters together!  We both grew up in the same town in suburban Maryland, went our separate ways for college, and found each other while both living in Boston.  I'm a grad student in Genetics, he is an entrepreneur with a knack for marketing and the internet.  I love to laugh, and he is the funniest person I've ever met.  We both love to learn, watch all the cute dogs in our neighborhood, and laze around in front of the TV!    

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The first time I saw Ben would probably have been on our 9th grade class election day - where he gave a speech in his successful campaign for class president!  He was always at the head of the class, student government, debate team... you name it, he was king!  I did pretty well in high school, but I was always impressed/intimidated by him and his intellect in the classes we had together.  By senior year we were pretty friendly in class, but he had one foot out the door, more than ready for college!  Five years later, we ran into each other at our high school reunion and realized we were both living in Boston!  The instant sparks between us made up for all that time not noticing each other in the past - it was love at first re-sight!  

After ring shopping and some mysterious contact with my family's friends who happen to be jewelers... I knew a ring was picked out and on its way... eventually.  He kept dropping hints that he would be picking the ring up when we went home to Maryland to visit our families at the end of September.  I assumed the proposal would come sometime after that... and he would have to drag it out to surprise me, so who knew how long it would be until we were engaged!!

In the middle of a less than stellar work week, my SO called me and asked if I wanted to go to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts with him after work.  Its right around the corner from my lab and its usually nearly empty on weeknights.  We both love art and visit the museum frequently, so I didn't suspect anything - I figured he was feeling as restless at work as I was.  

He was glowing when I got to the museum, but I still had no idea.  He led me to the beautiful impressionist gallery, and we walked towards the stunning Renoir that is the gallery's centerpiece - The Dance at Bougival.  There was a woman in front of the painting taking pictures... very slowly.  My SO seemed surprisingly irritated at the woman's slow photography - and in a minute I would understand why.  In a usual pattern for us, he suddenly asked if I wouldn't mind carrying his wallet in my purse.  And then with a mischievous look on his face he told me he had something else for me to hold onto as well.  He got down on one knee, right in front of the painting in the beautiful empty gallery and asked me to marry him!

I was SO surprised and thrilled.  He had been throwing me off the trail all along - our friend the jeweler had offered to send him the ring before he had to pay, so he didn't have to go down to Maryland to finalize the sale!  Of course he kept this a secret, making it the most wonderful surprise of my life!