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Ryan was an English major at Stevenson University and I, Jennifer, was Visual Communication Design major. We had been going to the same school for a few years before we met. Spring semester, junior year, we both decided to take an english class based on stories and writing in video games. The first project was something called Global Game Jam, I came up with idea and proposed it to the class, from there students joined teams based on the different ideas, but Ryan joined my team because he wanted to get to know me. From then on, we became close friends and few years later, finally gave the relationship a chance.

Jenn and I have been dating for almost five years, and I’ve known since the beginning that I wanted to marry her. Luckily, she had an inkling of this intention, and we put together a pinterest board with a bunch of rings I could pick from. I saved up for months and months to buy one. Lots of peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. We had a trip planned! To Utah! The land of sand. Jenn’s best friend lives out there and we’ve gone to visit a few times. I’m really bad at secrets so I had to keep my lips sealed. Except I asked Jenn’s friend for help planning the proposal. But no one else… well, except her husband too. We decided to disguise it as a photoshoot for their anniversary. A ruse for going out into the desert in exceptionally formal clothing. I ordered the ring at the last minute, and had to beg the jeweler for express shipping. I was worried the ring would arrive at our home in Chestertown while we were already flying out. The faintest glimmer of a backup plan was developing in my mind when the ring arrived in a totally timely manner. Jenn wasn’t even home! I simply stuck it in my backpack for the trip, and off we went! Our friends made me get a manicure for the occasion. I’m an automotive technician by trade and all the long hours working for that ring had taken its toll on my extremities. I was really nervous about preserving my masculinity, but there were other guys in there, and it kind of tickled at times. I had the salon techs laughing at the before-and-after of my hands. After the salon we headed out into the wilderness. Once Jenn finished up photos of our friends, it was our turn. I picked out the highest point I could, which made for a beautiful backdrop, but I sadly am afraid of heights and this made me extra nervous. I had Jenn look away and told her I wanted to look like Jack and Rose. As Jenn turned around to see the ring, it almost fell out of the box and down into the ravine. I would have gone down with it, but Jenn has always been a stabilizing force for me, and steadied my hand as she plucked the ring from its box and agreed to marry me. May 10th, 2024 was the best day of my life. I wasn’t afraid to ask, just afraid of falling.

I can’t say that our engagement came as a surprise. But it was perfect. About four and half years ago, I fell in love with my friend, Ryan. We had met in college and grew to be great friends, and two years in, we gave ourselves a chance. He’s from Baltimore and I’m from Kennedyville, so the middle-distance relationship wasn’t always easy. But after new jobs, a new home, two cats and a lot of driving, we are now together everyday. So, onto the story of our engagement. One of my best friends, Casey, lives in Utah, so Ryan, my sister, Laurie, and I had planned a trip out there to see her and her husband, Joe. The first full day out there we were going on a hike at the Chuckwalla trail. Casey and Joe had just celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary and asked me to do a photoshoot for them while we were out on our hike. Tip off number one. In preparation for the photo shoot, that morning we all went to a nail salon and even Ryan was convinced to get his nails cleaned up while us girls got manicures. Afterwards, we went back to the house and gathered outfits for the photoshoot and our hiking stuff. Casey had told me she wanted to take photos of me and Ryan dressed up since I am usually the one behind the camera, so we brought nice clothes with us. Tip off number two. During the hike we scrambled up all sorts of rocks, saw a large variety of small critters and constantly lost sight of Ryan, as he has no limit to what he will climb up. He kept looking at all of the peaks, going higher and further to find the best spots for our photo shoots. Finally, Casey and Ryan decided on a good spot, up on a cliff. Casey and Joe changed and I spent a few minutes capturing photos of them out in the beautiful landscape. Soon after Ryan and I changed, and handed over my beloved camera to Casey. Of course Ryan insisted we start out with the classic “Titanic” pose. After a few shots, I was instructed to keep looking out. What a tell-tale sign and tip off number three. Once I turned around, Ryan was down on one knee. He looked up at me and kept it very simple - “Will you marry me?”