How They Met

Courtney and Ben first met through mutual friends on April 7, 2005 at a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity being held at the State College Presbyterian Church. They didn’t talk much that day, but played a very entertaining game of glow in the dark ultimate Frisbee the next evening and spent that night with friends watching Disney’s The Incredibles. They began hanging out after that and eventually started dating in the spring of 2006. On their first date they played pool at the HUB and went to a juggling class.

Since Ben and Courtney lived hours away, summers and holidays were spent apart, but were filled with lots of letters, phone calls, and weekend trips away to discover places like Philadelphia, Niagara Falls, and Pittsburgh. During spring break of their junior year they packed up the car for more adventures and headed north to visit Courtney's family in Nova Scotia where Ben faced the ultimate test of meeting Courtney’s Granddad. As it turns out, he passed the test and that trip became the first of many road trips Ben and Courtney would take together.

Courtney graduated in the spring of 2008 and embarked on another long drive with Ben to drop him off in California for his internship. Shortly after arriving back home, Ben asked Courtney if she would join him out in Folsom when he moved there permanently in January, which she happily agreed to do.

The tough economy, especially in California, did not make life easy for the couple at first, but like everyone else, they endured. Ben and Courtney found ways to enjoy California by bike riding together on the Folsom trails, playing deck hockey with friends, and swimming at the nearby lake.

Ben and Courtney also plan on visiting a list of popular destinations in California by the end of the year as they continue their lives together.

The Proposal

Ben and Courtney were in San Diego visiting some family and friends for the weekend. The trip was off to a bad start when Courtney accidentally left her wallet at a pit stop five hours up the road. She was upset and angry about it all the next day, but after some convincing Courtney agreed to go watch the sunset on the beach with Ben. The couple always tries to see the sunset when they are at the coast, but have had little luck in the past. They left quickly, but as they arrived on the sand, the sun had already set. They continued walking and managed to get on Crystal Pier before the gate closed it off to the public.

Although they missed the sunset, there was a wonderful full moon out over San Diego. After talking on the pier Ben and Courtney agreed it was getting dark and it was time to leave. Ben turned to Courtney and said, "before we go, I have something to ask you". Then, in the middle of the empty pier under the full moon, he got down on one knee and pulled out a ring. Courtney was very surprised and as Ben was giving his speech he had rehearsed, Courtney realized what was going on, but in the shock process she had missed almost all he had said up until "will you marry me?" Courtney said "yes" of course and the couple went to celebrate with champagne.