Ben and Hadley first met in the Fall of 2009 when they were seated next to each other in Honors Civics class at Jefferson High School. What they didn't realize at the time was that they grew up living only four blocks from one another, him on 102nd Street and her on 106th.

They became friends over shared sticks of gum and Ben loaning Hadley his sweatshirt to keep out the icy Jefferson air conditioning. This friendship grew closer after Hadley got her driver's license and they began carpooling to school each day, along with their dear friend Kelsey Barnes, spending several hours chatting in the Barnes Family driveway.

Ben and Hadley then parted ways for college, Ben going to the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and Hadley flying out to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Despite the 1,230 mile distance between the two schools, they remained close friends.

Freshman year came and went and Hadley made the decision to transfer to the University of Minnesota, which made visits for the two much easier to accomplish. The following school year, Ben was accepted into Carlson School of Management at the U and joined Hadley in Minneapolis. It was an exciting time that was made sweeter with these two best friends having each other to lean on.

They both graduated from the U of M in the spring of 2017 and it was a time of new beginnings, each starting their first "big kid" jobs and living in Uptown, Minneapolis. It was around this time that the pair decided that their feelings for one another were undeniable and gave dating a try.

Things were going well for the two, they were young and in love and working their way up the proverbial corporate ladder when Ben received a job offer that would move him out to Manchester, New Hampshire. While this was a huge step for his career, neither Ben nor Hadley were thrilled about the idea of a long distance relationship and made the difficult decision to part ways upon Ben's move East.

As young folks do, they attempted to stay friends after Ben moved. The friendship part came easily, as they had been close for so long, but letting their feelings for each other go proved to be much more difficult. Finally, in the summer of 2019, Hadley admitted she still had feelings for Ben and he did the same. At last, they decided it was time to be together, long distance be damned!

And the rest, they say, is history. Ben got a job that brought him back to Minnesota during the pandemic and the two were able to move into their first apartment together in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota. In the winter of 2022 they moved to Lafayette, Colorado, with pups Elphie and Baker in tow.

On their first extended visit back to Minnesota in July of 2022, Ben and Hadley were staying at the Hanson Family cabin in Duluth. Their dear friend Kelsey joined them there for a summer weekend of pontooning and bonfires. Unbeknownst to Hadley, Ben and Kelsey had a plan up their sleeves. The three took a drive into town to grab a couple of drinks at the local Canal Park Brewery, and made a pit stop at Park Point Beach to enjoy the view of Duluth and the shores of Lake Superior along the way. Kelsey pretended to take a phone call (giving the performance of a lifetime) and as she stepped away Ben dropped down on one knee and popped the question. Hadley, of course, said yes!

Ben and Hadley are thrilled to be spending their lives together and cannot wait to celebrate the start of their new beginning as Mr. and Mrs. Hanson with you all! Thank you for being a part of their story. Now let's party!

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