Greenwich Village Engagement: Congrats Samantha and Ben!

Samantha and Ben ‘s love story began with an app, continued through a love of books sent from miles away, and will be sealed with vows spoken this coming October. We met in Washington Square Park for their engagement session.

The session continued in Central Park.

Samantha shares, “Ben and I are a dating app miracle – we matched on Tinder when he was visiting NYC from Kansas City in June 2014. Since he was an out-of-towner, and rumor has it Tinder users don’t always have the best intentions, I decided not to meet up.”

This story is best, continued through the point of view of their dog, Oliver (written by Ben)…

“According to Tinder’s internal data, 9 billion matches have been created between users since its inception. That means each day, 26 million pairs are matched out of an approximate 1.4 billion swipes, left to right. Despite that stark statistical disadvantage, Ben and Samantha, at some God forsaken hour of the early morning, matched and at once began the correspondence that would lead to their 100% genuine, Grade A, true love.

Before even laying eyes on one another, Ben and Sam became acquainted through the words of writers much more esteemed than this one. What started as a brief sharing of Haruki Murakami’s short story, “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning,” became a full-fledged, cross-country, tastefully flirtatious book club.

Words and pages were read, weighty discussions shared. In an effort to distinguish Ben from the catfish and serial killers lurking in the online depths, FaceTimes were scheduled. Plane tickets purchased. NYC explored. Central Park strolls. Holding hands. Pumpkin patch visits. New Year’s Eve kiss. Museums observed and I love yous shared.
It was all falling into place, and Ben and Sam knew it was the real thing.

Upon receiving consent from myself (the true man of the house), Ben packed all he owned into a rented Chrysler Town & Country and started the journey from Kansas City to our apartment on the Upper West Side. He’s been here awhile now, and we are all enjoying life together so much that Ben and Sam are getting married. A Susan Sontag line I read once on my favorite blog, brainpickings, says, “Being in love means being willing to ruin yourself for the other person.” I remembered that line because that’s how I know Sam and Ben love each other. The bond they have together is more important than any of their individual wants and conditions.

And they don’t give bad belly rubs either.

Yours truly,
0LiveR w0Lf”

Samantha shares, “I had a feeling he was going to be my person from the minute we started talking. I know it sounds crazy, but as soon as we met, I knew I was right. September kicked off a cross-country romance, in December we picked out a place together on the Upper West Side, and I left my Greenwich Village address of nearly six years. In March, he locked in a job and Memorial Day weekend of 2015, he moved from Kansas to New York.

Every day I feel lucky that by some stroke of fate we sort of met on his visit to New York City. ”