Abby & Ryan met on their first day of college at Rowan University. The rest of the swim team was there to help move the freshman in and they were introduced in the parking lot of their dorm building, Mimosa. Later that night there was a "team meeting" at the Swim House to welcome all the new swimmers and they were two of the only freshman who stayed to party after the "meeting" part of the night was over.

After a year of being friends and teammates, Ryan was ready to move the relationship to the next level and ask Abby to be his girlfriend. A bunch of friends knew it was coming, but Abby was not as sure. So after a few too many swigs of Four Loko at the Swim Team's White Elephant Holiday Party and a long walk back to the Rowan Boulevard apartments - Abby responded, "Sure, where do you want to go?" after Ryan asked, "Will you go out with me?"

Ryan totally took Abby by surprise and is proud to say he out-planned the planner! Abby's friends texted in the morning that they needed to cancel their dinner plans due to “food poisoning." Bummed out about the cancelled plans, Abby texted Ryan that he was no longer on his own for dinner and should take something out of the freezer. But this was all part of the plan and Ryan sprung into action. He suggested they still make the most of the evening and "made a reservation" at a restaurant that was along the waterfront in their neighborhood. Knowing Abby is always late to everything unless it’s an event for work, the reservation was the key to getting her out of the apartment in time for sunset. Once they began walking to dinner, Ryan suggested taking the long way, which included their normal route along the Hudson River. As they approached the last pier before the restaurant where the photographer was waiting, Abby paused to take pictures and wanted to skip going all the way out to the end. However, Ryan pointed out a construction crane that would be in all the photos and convinced Abby it was worth the walk out to the end for a better view. As Abby finished taking her sunset pictures, Ryan began reflecting on their past ten years together, reached into his coat pocket and got down on one knee. “This happening right now in our favorite place?!” squeaked Abby. It was perfect and a total surprise!