One of our first photos ever taken....

Well.... Frankie has been around for quite some time.  In fact, he spent time with the Buening family long before Cynthia had ever laid eyes on him (she was away earning her bachelors degree at UF).

It was through Deb and Chris, that Frank and Cynthia met, one fated night during a birthday celebration at Chili's.  

Frankie has been best friends with Chris Menconi for almost a decade now!   Deb (Cynthia's little sister, though only 3 years younger) has known Chris too now, for over a decade.   Chris was "adopted" by the Buening family long before Deb & Chris'  union was ever made official.  Frankie, Chris and Deb spent many moons dancing all night, taking road trips to Disney, chasing cheesy poofs and creating memories that last a lifetime. 

For those of you that don't know Deb or Chris, they ((FINALLY!)) got married last spring at the gorgeous Venetian in Las Vegas on March 14th, 2004!  (Check out our Wedding Party page for more on both of them.)  We all (30 something of us) had such an amazing time at their beautiful wedding, (even though we only had 5 weeks to plan!)  

Now, rewinding to the beginning of Cynthia and Frankie; the chemistry between us was there from the get go (though we didn't start dating for another 4 years after that night at Chili's!)  Unbeknownst to either one of us, both of us would make up excuses to visit Deb & Chris, who lived together at the time, for any chance we could get to "run" into each other.  Funny though, when ever we did manage to get together, neither one of us talked very much.  Both of us were just happy "being" next to one another.   The energy between us was, and has continued to be, captivating for us both.

Well.... fast forward a couple years to 2002.  Frank was away at the University of Florida, working on his Bachelors degree studying Criminology and Law.   Cynthia, in a mid-life transition after having to depart her corporate sales position at Lanier Worldwide, decided to pursue her Masters Degree that summer of 02 and applied to UF.   

A week before classes were scheduled to begin, Cynthia was offered a job interview in Jacksonville as a Veterinary Pharmaceutical sales rep.   Great!!  Only one minor detail stood in the way..... Cynthia had broken her tail bone (OUCH!!) rollerblading very early one morning on the beach a few days before, and couldn't sit, let alone DRIVE 5 hours.  (Lesson learned: wake your brain up before you strap your feet in, skate 25mph and jump over a puddle of water).  Frankie to the rescue during summer break!!  After nursing her (road rash) wounds for a few days, he offered to drive Cynthia the 5 hours up to Jacksonville and back down again to Ft. Lauderdale to complete her interview.   Since sitting wasn't an option, we had fun making the most of the drive. 

On a whim, Frank insisted on doing a drive by at UF to "check" on the application status.   UF had open arms for their returning alumni and the dean insisted "no worries... we'll find you funding and a research project, come on back Cynthia!!"
 
Well...... finding a place in 1 week seemed impossible, with all the other details to attend to.   Frankie to the rescue again, offers up his 2/2 spare room as "roommates".  

Well.... not wanting to jump into the frying pan, it took another year, and some serious growing pains learning to live together, before Cynthia caved into Frankie's charms and (admitted to) falling in love! 

Frank and Cynthia share together in their love of the outdoors, traveling, spending time with family, as well as and thrill seeking experiences like sky diving, scuba diving, rollerblading, and driving his motorcycle, but their most favorite activity is spending quality cuddle time on the couch, or anywhere else they can get away with pda's 

So, as the story goes, after a decade of friendships and a boat load of memories, two sisters (will) marry (their) best friends.