Sara and Ben met in High School and were on two entirely different walks of life. Their interactions were scarce, though they both had an admiration for one another.

From an initial exchange of a " Rain Drop, Drop Top, Oh George, Not the livestock" meme from O' Brother Where Art Thou, Sara and Ben messaged each other briefly on Instagram, but as you can imagine, two awkward and quiet High Schoolers fell out of the conversation rather quickly.

For Sara, Ben was a caring, cute, and shy guy that, to this day, claims she had a crush on.

For Ben, Sara was a pretty and incredibly kind girl that

genuinely brightened any room with her presence.

They would go on to graduate High School in 2019 with their admiration for each other being unknown. Of course, that would change.

Fast forward to November 27th, 2021: To Ben's account, He and a few family members were finding somewhere to eat and after a change of plans, decided on Outback Steakhouse. To Sara's account, she shared a similar experience where a change of plans led her and her family to go to the same place. They think that without this coincidence, their relationship may have never began.

Ben walked into the restaurant and recognized Sara, said hi, and went to an adjacent table from her. Ben recounts that Sara looked beautiful and that she was putting off the same joyous energy that she had in High School. Sara recounts saying to her now-late grandpa that she had gone to school with Ben and that he was very nice.

Ben couldn't get Sara out of his head, and instead of approaching her directly, went back to their roots... Instagram DM. He spent at least an hour constructing the perfect message to send to her and after much thought and consideration, landed on, "You doin alright?" proceeded by another text a few hours later saying "Didn't want to be weird but you looked so nice!" ... smooth.

Ben thought that he would have to write off their brief interaction after a few days with no reply, but she would later reply, exchange phone numbers, and their love story would gain traction very quickly.

For about a year, they would have to endure the struggles of a long-distance relationship as Sara went to college in Tennessee, and Ben lived in Kentucky. With their busy schedules, they resorted to spending hours on Facetime, texting constantly, and finding any gap in their week to meet halfway or plan a fun day. Upon Sara's graduation and return to Kentucky, they would be inseparable, and remain so.

They are now certain that they have both found their perfect someone as they continue to grow closer, learn more every day about each other, and have a plethora of future plans ahead.

Here's to Ben and Sara Short!

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Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lexington W Versailles an IHG Hotel

Rose Hill Inn