Brittany

Matthew and I met in 2014 dancing at a Latin Night thanks to my beautiful Maid of Honor and Best Friend Sarah “McNutt” Benjamin!

Dancing has brought us to many of our people and I’m so grateful for that. That’s how I met Sarah and most of my beautiful bridal party. Lessons and Latin Nights were at least a weekly occurrence throughout that time, however I had been frequenting less as I had the kids full time while their Dad, Kent, was away for nursing school, I was in Graduate School at Kansas State University working on my Master’s Degree in Human Nutrition while also working. The kids went to visit their Mimi and Grandfather for the weekend, which meant I got to join in the festivities and meet up with my bestie at the Latin Night happening at Los Tejanos that night.

When I walked in I saw Sarah dancing with Matthew and I said to myself “Oh who’s he? He’s cute!” I went over to hug Sarah and unknowingly greet my future husband. We had our first dance together and I immediately realized he could dance! He had rhythm and could pick up on things very quickly, I instantly claimed him as my dance partner and we danced the night away. The next night Sarah wasn’t feeling well and asked if I could give Matthew a ride to the Latin Night happening at Cat Tracks we were all supposed to attend that evening. I would do anything to help my dear friend in need, truly, and it didn’t hurt that I would get to spend some more time with my new dance partner so I without hesitation said of course.

That night we both danced the night away with each other and friends and on the way home we spent some time getting to know each other better as I took him to see the Christmas lights in Blue Earth Plaza. We had seen each other at Sarah’s Christmas decorating party before going out to dance the evening away together again a couple of weekends later. We had then exchanged numbers and began chatting on a daily basis while he was away for Christmas break in Canada with his family.

With every conversation I knew there was something different and so special about him, he had real potential for a substantial and meaningful relationship. The way he was open and interacted with Kaden and Adelyne who were 8 and 4 years old at the time, the way he cared for his little sister Rikki-Anne. The connection was strong and fast. To say we had challenges and hardships to overcome is an understatement, but the support, love and commitment we gave each other has helped us to grow into a love that I couldn’t have even fathomed.

At midnight on Christmas 2022 we had a scene very much similar to our first night really beginning to get to know one another. He took me to a location with lights, a tree and crisp winter air where he proposed and we danced to one of my favorite bachata songs after I said yes.

From the beginning we said that when all the needs and qualities for a partnership and romantic relationship are there, then it becomes a matter of choice and that we were choosing each other forever and always.

Matthew

In 2014, at the end of my first semester at Kansas State University, commenced a series of events which unbeknownst to me would change the entire course of my life. One Friday night, I ran into an acquaintance of mine, Sarah, at the Country Swing Club’s end of the semester dance. I had previously met Sarah through some clubs we mutually attended. She was a grad student in art, and an incredible dancer. She mentioned that there would be a Latin night later and asked if I’d be interested in going. I immediately ditched my boy, Devyn, and headed over to Los Tejanos. Little did I know how pivotal a decision this would turn out to be.

I’d been learning Latin dancing for most of the semester by this point, but I’d never gone to a Latin Night. The start of the night was pretty comparable to other dance events I’d been to. There was a lesson before the night officially kicked off, then the DJ started the music, and dancers gradually flowed in and took to the dance floor. Then she walked in: a beautiful redheaded woman with the bluest eyes and the biggest smile. Sarah Introduced us. The woman before me was Sarah’s best friend, Brittany Dennis. As fortune would have it, though the busy life of a student and single mom had long deterred her, on this particular Friday night, the kids were away for the weekend freeing her up to make an appearance at Los Tejanos. After our initial introduction, Brittany and I danced, and danced, and danced some more. I don’t think that we danced with anyone else that night.

Thus began a pattern. I didn’t know it at the time, but Britt would later confess that, in her words, she “claimed” me as her dance partner that first night. The next night, at Cat Tracks, we once again danced all night. Then, the next weekend, after Sarah’s cookie decorating party, we did the same thing. One Saturday night, after a few weeks of this pattern, when I needed a ride to Latin Night Britt was an eager volunteer. Like every other night before, we danced the night away, but after the night concluded, instead of dispersing and heading home we just talked. We talked for a long time about life and started to learn about each other. Before I went home to the dorms, I got to see a glimpse of her spontaneous side. As it was the Christmas season, we drove to Blue Earth Plaza to look at the decorations. We walked around in the dead of the night breathing the crisp, cold air, taking in the lights and just talking, not caring how late it was. When I got back to my dorm that night, I think I was starting to understand that I’d met a very special person unlike anyone else I’d met to this point.

Really, the rest is history. I went home for winter break. My family travelled to Canada that year, but Britt and I never stopped texting the entire time. When my families travels were over, I tried to get back to Manhattan as soon as possible, and once I got back to Manhattan, we were basically inseparable, growing closer and closer by the day. Since then we’ve only continued to grow together. We’ve become each others’ family, and we have never stopped dancing through life together.