Love Story Summer 2007

Jessica A. (Wheeler) & Benjamin R. Young

June 3, 2006
Burlington, Vermont
...aboard the Spirit of Ethan Allen III

About Us

I was born and raised in Virginia and moved to Vermont following high school to be near family and see what a new area had to offer. Ben was a Vermont native with a dream for a career in the fire service. Little did I know when our paths crossed in the Spring of 2003 that he would be the one to lead me back to Virginia...life is so funny sometimes. We moved to my hometown almost three years ago so Ben could pursue a career as a fire fighter. The City of Fairfax Fire Department has since hired him and I work as an Administrative Assistant in a law office. We recently purchased our first home and are living our happily ever after.
How we met

I often spent Friday nights with friends at Irish Happy Hour at Rasputin’s in Burlington. One night, Ben arrived with a mutual friend of ours. I took notice. With a little coaxing from my friends, we started talking and spent the entire evening together. After, we hung out at our friend’s house until one in the morning and then he drove me back to my car. We exchanged phone numbers and talked about getting together the following week. As I went to leave, I leaned over for a hug but got an amazing first kiss. I will never forget it and I couldn’t wait to see him again.

How we got engaged

It all started Christmas Eve, 2004. We spent all afternoon cleaning and running errands, in preparation for the coming holiday weekend. My Dad and Stepmom were coming into town the day after Christmas and there were still presents to wrap. After a very busy day, we were getting ready to go to my Mom and Step dad’s house for Christmas Eve dinner. While cleaning up for dinner, I removed an opal ring Ben had given me the Christmas before and when I returned it to my finger I noticed the opal was gone! I was devastated. Little did I know, this would put the whole plan in motion.

Ben spent the rest of the evening trying to secretly get a hold of my Dad to ask his permission. Ben had the ring for a few months and was waiting for the right moment. He thought he might talk to my Dad during his visit, and propose around New Years, but after I lost my ring he knew it had to happen now.

Christmas morning arrived; Ben and I opened presents together. All the boxes had been unwrapped but Ben insisted I had forgotten something. “I know there is one more present for you over there, just go look.” I went over to our Christmas tree and noticed a small velvet box with a bow, I had not seen before, sitting on one of the lower branches. I was speechless. I reached down to pick it up and as I turned around I saw Ben down on one knee in front of me. He looked up at me and said, "Will you marry me?" And before he could say "me”, I was lifting him to his feet screaming, "Yes, Yes, Yes!" He was laughing and I was crying. I hadn't even looked at the ring yet. He told me to open the box. When I did, I saw my Great Grandmother Howe's ring for the very first time. He had arranged through my Mom and Grandmother to get it. It was so beautiful. He explained to me that he hadn't had time to have it sized, but as I slid it on my finger we realized it wouldn't need to be; it fit perfectly.

Most Memorable Details

Every moment of our wedding was perfect. It even rained most of the day and it could not have been more beautiful. We included a lot of personal touches throughout the ceremony and reception; from the music we chose for the procession and recessional to writing our own vows. I’ll never forget our chocolate wedding cake. One of my favorite moments was during our ceremony; Ben was in recruit school for the fire department during the final preparations for the wedding so we did not have an opportunity for a rehearsal.

I had looked everything over ahead of time, but Ben had flown in late the night before the wedding and really didn’t have a chance to go over our vows before the wedding. As our officiant read our vows for him to repeat, he was so worried he wasn’t going to remember what she was saying that he didn’t hear her. He kept asking her to repeat herself and at one point just asked her to turn the paper so he could read it. Everyone was laughing, including us. Finally, it was my turn and I thought I knew exactly what to say. I started off flawlessly but as I repeated the words I looked into Ben’s eyes and got lost. Before I knew it, I was also asking her to repeat herself. It was priceless. Later, Ben’s parents told us they had done the very same thing at their wedding. I only hope it is a sign that we will enjoy as many happy years as they have so far - almost 30 years!
Some Planning Advice to Future Brides and Grooms

The three most important things I could tell you are:

1. Take time to plan and make it personal – every small detail will add up to one of the most amazing days of your life.
2. Use the resources that are available to you – our wedding would not have happened if not for the internet.
3. Not everything will go exactly how you plan – if it doesn’t, don’t let that distract you from what is really important.

Index of Love Stories at Vermont Bride Magazine