The Proposal Expert Gets Her Own Surprise Ring

Benjamin Ryan Cohen can easily recall how he met Lexi Brooke Tobin because it was on his 31st birthday, June 18, 2021.

Ms. Tobin was in Montauk, N.Y., for the bachelorette party of her older sister, Perri Tobin Schwartz. Mr. Cohen, then living in Delray Beach, Fla., was sharing a house with friends in nearby East Hampton for the month. One of his housemates, who was also Ms. Tobin’s childhood friend, thought it would be fun to celebrate Mr. Cohen’s birthday by crashing the party.

As it turned out, “my sister had known Ben for years,” through the housemate, Ms. Tobin said. “She introduced us during her bachelorette party. He made a quick impression on me — he offered his sweatshirt when I was cold, and I felt an instant connection.”

Mr. Cohen, now 33, has a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Florida and a law degree from N.Y.U. He worked as a real estate lawyer after college, then started Outdoor Adventure Retreats, which provides campgrounds, recreational vehicle resorts and marinas. Ms. Tobin, 26, is a proposal planner and wedding influencer based in New York City. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mr. Cohen’s trip was coming to a close, so the day after the bachelorette party, he took Ms. Tobin to dinner. “We ate outside on the water and our conversation was just so easy and fun,” Ms. Tobin said.

They recalled a tense moment when it started to rain. “It could’ve been a stressful moment that ruined the night, but we made it fun and just moved tables,” Mr. Cohen said. “It felt like we became a couple on our first date because we connected so fast.”

Soon after Mr. Cohen returned to Florida, he decided to visit New York City and spend a weekend with Ms. Tobin. The couple say they fell in love that weekend, at the William Vale hotel in Brooklyn.

“I was really nervous going into the weekend,” Ms. Tobin said. “But once we were together, all the nerves went away. He made me feel so comfortable.”

Mr. Cohen made the move to New York permanent in early 2022, and the couple rented an apartment in Manhattan’s West Village.

On March 2, 2023 they became engaged, though not before Ms. Tobin successfully solved a few clues.

Mr. Cohen had told her that he had a work trip that day that would require him to be away. He packed a suitcase and said he was headed to the airport, but instead, he checked into the William Vale hotel.