Rehearsal Dinner

Bishop Farmstead

Wedding Day

Wedding

Reception

Our Wedding

Depending upon who you ask, their&nbsp;story begins at different stages.

When you ask Cori, she knew Ben was hers from the moment she heard his name years prior to their meeting. Though they had not ever been introduced to each other, in a conversation with mutual friends, his name came up and it was at that moment she knew.













When you ask Ben, the story picks up years later at a Christmas party in 2014, where he met Cori at a mutual friend's house. He didn't know who she was, just that she was a new person added to the bond of friends.&nbsp;He adds her as a friend on Facebook, peruses her photos, posts on her Birthday a few days later, and doesn't&nbsp;speak to her again... until&nbsp;one year later on December 27, 2015, at that same Christmas party, where&nbsp;their paths cross once more.













&nbsp;According to Cori, she "misplaced her phone". In an effort to find it, she asks if she could use someone's phone to call it. Ben, being right there as she asked, handed her his phone, where the&nbsp;unofficial exchange of their numbers happens (lol).













Throughout the night, the two caught each&nbsp;other's eye,&nbsp;engaged in flirtatious banter, and even shared a seat on the couch during a movie. Ben knew at this point, there was something different, something he had never seen, something that pulled him closer to Cori. As the night grew late, slowly everyone headed home. Cori, having developed a fever, gathered her belongings and headed out. Being a gentleman, Ben took this opportunity to walk Cori to her car and wished her well.













Concerned for her well being, Ben texted Cori the following&nbsp;morning&nbsp;to see how she was doing.&nbsp;

How it all began...

Days after the Christmas party, Ben and Cori spent many hours on the phone, enjoying the conversation of each other. Leading up to Cori's 30th Birthday, she invites Ben to the celebration. He graciously accepts.&nbsp;At&nbsp;this point there was no public knowledge that something was beginning.

It's the big day to celebrate Cori, and Ben is not feeling well, but he pushes himself to go support her.&nbsp;Not knowing anyone, Ben plays it cool, mingling amongst the crowd, seeking opportunities to just get a glimpse of Cori's beauty throughout the night. Wanting to remember this moment, they take their very first picture together.&nbsp;











The night goes on, everyone sings Happy Birthday to Cori, and the crowd slowly disperses. Ben, still around, intentionally waited&nbsp;until midnight to leave&nbsp;so that he could officially be the first one to tell her "Happy&nbsp;Birthday" on her actual birthday. They talk and eventually Ben prepares to leave, walking with Cori to his car, where they exchange their very first kiss.









Time goes on, they begin hanging out,&nbsp;and&nbsp;taking advantage of any opportunity to see each other.

First Kiss

When you ask Ben and Cori, though they had feelings growing for each other, Ben&nbsp;was very intentional about building a friendship&nbsp;first, being sure to remind himself of this by making every effort to express that they were just friends, that talk on the phone, and like to kiss a lot (lol). Time goes on and they have their first official date at Don Pablos. The experience was nothing short of weird, from the awkward waiter, to the salty tortillas, but&nbsp;the one thing that was simply amazing was the chemistry and conversation between them. Though it was not the ideal first date, it is one of the most memorable because it showed them both that regardless of what is going on around them, they have each other in the moment. Fast forward a few weeks, they've been talking to each other, their respective friends, and family, and everyone is wondering, who is this person that they're each smitten over. It's Valentine's Day weekend, and it's been about 2 months of just being friends.&nbsp;Ben is now ready to make their relationship official. Sunday, February 14, 2016, Ben plans an amazing day, starting with a walk through the Philadelphia Home Show and then later dinner at La Calaca Feliz, a&nbsp;Mexican restaurant, which is&nbsp;Cori's favorite cuisine. After indulging in a&nbsp;delicious&nbsp;meal, they head back to the car. Before leaving the parking lot, they exchange gifts, with Ben's final gift being a note saying "Will you be my Girlfriend?&nbsp;Check Yes or No". Surprised, Cori&nbsp;checks yes&nbsp;and they seal the night with a kiss! It's official, Ben and Cori are together! #facebookofficial

We're official (on Facebook too!)

For the next&nbsp;860 days after that Christmas Party in 2015, Ben and Cori&nbsp;shared a joy, happiness, and love&nbsp;together that each of them had longed for, but&nbsp;never experienced&nbsp;before. Their&nbsp;journey together has taken&nbsp;them on countless drives to Philadelphia for delectable&nbsp;cuisine and an Eagles game (E-A-G-L-E-S... EAGLES!!!!!),&nbsp;North Jersey/New York/Cape May for several&nbsp;weddings, New York City for a Broadway play,&nbsp;Shirleysburg, PA for the Creation Music Festival,&nbsp;Atlanta, GA for Thanksgiving, Bermuda via Royal Caribbean Cruise-lines, and many mini vacations to Atlantic City to escape the complexities of life. They've shared many milestones together, supporting each other as they&nbsp;have&nbsp;both navigated life, seeing a little bit of the world&nbsp;along the way. Truly, God and Love have been at the forefront of what they believe has made their relationship flourish.

Fast forward to May 5, 2018... At this point, Ben had been looking for engagement rings for over a year (he was serious about the right one). The plan was simple, Sharita,&nbsp;Ben's sister and a makeup artist, was going to suggest&nbsp;a "couples photoshoot" for a portfolio she was putting together. After many date changes, they all decided that May 5th was the best day. So, in Cori's mind, she was just getting a new dress, and&nbsp;her hair and makeup done for the "photoshoot". Once they were ready,&nbsp;Ben and Cori headed to the car.&nbsp;Suddenly,&nbsp;Sharita pulled&nbsp;up&nbsp;stating she was having "car troubles" and wanted Ben to take a look. He drove&nbsp;off in haste to "check on the car". Of course this was all a ploy to get Ben to be in place for the proposal that Cori will never forget! With the music playing,&nbsp;candles lit, &nbsp;rose pedals laid, and the Philadelphia skyline in the background,&nbsp;Ben proposed to Cori, proclaiming the she was his Queen...she happily accepted!







<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpFGfTpzhus&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Click Here</a> to check out the full proposal&nbsp;video!&nbsp;

The Proposal!!!!

Our Story

Details

Photos

Georges Dubois

Dana Kendra

Dana Washington-Stanton

Nathaniel Russell

Ahmad Sanon

Cassie Leary

Kasie Strohm

Antonio Labarrere

Alaina Griffin

William Morris

Daniel Eural

Katie Daly

David Eural

Caitlin Orlando

Patrick Dubois

Lisa McDonald

Albert Matlock

Sharita Marrero

Lillian Marrero

Rowan Guyton

Levi Eural

Logyn Marrero

Wedding Party

Q + A

Registry

Block room pricing expires November 1, 2019.

Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Mt. Holly/Westampton

From&nbsp;Philadelphia

Get on&nbsp;I-676/US-30 E&nbsp;from&nbsp;S Penn Square&nbsp;and&nbsp;N Broad St (5 min&nbsp;(0.8 mi)









Head&nbsp;south&nbsp;on&nbsp;S 15th St&nbsp;toward&nbsp;S Penn Square (131 ft)













Use the left lane to turn slightly&nbsp;left&nbsp;onto&nbsp;S Penn Square (315 ft)













Keep&nbsp;left&nbsp;to stay on&nbsp;S Penn Square (0.2 mi)













S Penn Square&nbsp;turns slightly&nbsp;left&nbsp;and becomes&nbsp;John F Kennedy Blvd (262 ft)













Use the right 2 lanes to turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto&nbsp;N Broad St (0.3 mi)













Turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto the&nbsp;Interstate 676 E/U.S. 30 Eramp to&nbsp;Interstate 95 (0.2 mi)













Take&nbsp;I-95 N,&nbsp;NJ-90 E,&nbsp;NJ-73 S&nbsp;and&nbsp;I-295 N&nbsp;to&nbsp;NJ-38 E&nbsp;in&nbsp;Mount Laurel Township. Take exit&nbsp;40A&nbsp;from&nbsp;I-295 N (21 min&nbsp;(17.6 mi)













Merge onto&nbsp;I-676/US-30 E (0.3 mi)













Use the left 2 lanes to take the exit toward&nbsp;New York (1.0 mi)













Merge onto&nbsp;I-95 N (3.1 mi)













Use the right 2 lanes to take exit&nbsp;26&nbsp;for&nbsp;State Route 90/Betsy Ross Bridge/Aramingo Ave (0.8 mi)













Keep&nbsp;right, follow signs for&nbsp;NJ-90/Betsy Ross Br&nbsp;and merge onto&nbsp;NJ-90 E/Betsy Ross Bridge





Continue to follow NJ-90 E





Entering New Jersey (3.6 mi)













Keep&nbsp;left&nbsp;to stay on&nbsp;NJ-90 E (0.9 mi)













Continue onto&nbsp;NJ-73 S (1.0 mi)













Continue straight to stay on&nbsp;NJ-73 S (2.8 mi)













Use the right lane to merge onto&nbsp;I-295 N&nbsp;via the ramp to&nbsp;Trenton (3.9 mi)













Take exit&nbsp;40A&nbsp;to merge onto&nbsp;NJ-38 E&nbsp;toward&nbsp;Mt Holly (0.3 mi)







Continue on&nbsp;NJ-38 E. Take&nbsp;Creek Rd&nbsp;and&nbsp;Newbolds Corner Rd&nbsp;to&nbsp;Pemberton Rd&nbsp;in&nbsp;Southampton Township (17 min&nbsp;(10.1 mi)













Merge onto&nbsp;NJ-38 E (3.5 mi)













Turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Creek Rd (2.2 mi)













Turn&nbsp;left&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Main St (0.3 mi)













Turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Landing St (0.2 mi)













Continue straight onto&nbsp;Municipal Dr (1.3 mi)













Continue onto&nbsp;Newbolds Corner Rd (2.1 mi)













Turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Main St (0.4 mi)













Turn&nbsp;left&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Pemberton Rd





Destination will be on the left (0.2 mi) New York



Get on&nbsp;I-478&nbsp;from&nbsp;Park Row&nbsp;and&nbsp;Broadway (8 min&nbsp;(1.2 mi))





Head&nbsp;southeast&nbsp;on&nbsp;Steve Flanders Square&nbsp;toward&nbsp;Centre St

Restricted usage road (197 ft)





Turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Park Row (0.1 mi)





Use the left 2 lanes to stay on&nbsp;Park Row (144 ft)





Use the left 2 lanes to turn&nbsp;left&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Broadway

Pass by Bank of America Financial Center (on the left in 0.2&nbsp;mi) (0.5 mi)





Keep&nbsp;right&nbsp;to stay on&nbsp;Broadway (0.1 mi)





Turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Battery Pl (0.1 mi)





Use the right lane to turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto the&nbsp;NY-9A W&nbsp;ramp (0.1 mi)





Continue onto&nbsp;NY-9A N/S Street Viaduct/West St (194 ft)





Use the right 2 lanes to turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto the&nbsp;Battery Tunnel/Brooklyn/Interstate 278&nbsp;ramp&nbsp;

Toll road (0.1 mi)





Follow&nbsp;I-278 W&nbsp;and&nbsp;I-95 S&nbsp;to&nbsp;US-206 S&nbsp;in&nbsp;Bordentown Township. Take exit&nbsp;7&nbsp;from&nbsp;I-95 S



1 h 5 min&nbsp;(65.0 mi)





Continue onto&nbsp;I-478

Partial toll road (2.3 mi)





Merge onto&nbsp;I-278 W (0.6 mi)





Keep&nbsp;right&nbsp;to stay on&nbsp;I-278 W (1.6 mi)





Keep&nbsp;right&nbsp;at the fork to stay on&nbsp;I-278 W, follow signs for&nbsp;Verrazano Bridge/Staten Island

Partial toll road (2.6 mi)





Keep&nbsp;left&nbsp;at the fork to stay on&nbsp;I-278 W

Partial toll road (8.3 mi)





Keep&nbsp;left&nbsp;to stay on&nbsp;I-278 W

Partial toll road

Entering New Jersey (2.5 mi)





Use any lane to take the&nbsp;I-95 S&nbsp;exit

Toll road (0.7 mi)





Keep&nbsp;left&nbsp;at the fork and merge onto&nbsp;I-95 S

Partial toll road (45.3 mi)





Take exit&nbsp;7&nbsp;to merge onto&nbsp;US-206 S

Toll road (1.0 mi)





Follow&nbsp;US-206 S&nbsp;to&nbsp;Pemberton Rd&nbsp;in&nbsp;Southampton Township



18 min&nbsp;(13.2 mi)





Merge onto&nbsp;US-206 S (13.1 mi)





Turn&nbsp;right&nbsp;onto&nbsp;Pemberton Rd

Destination will be on the right (0.2 mi)

Benjamin Ekwueme & Cori Ashli

Benjamin Ekwueme & Cori Ashli

B&C

Wedding Day

3:00 PM–9:00 PM

Wedding

Reception