We're Getting Married!

Ryan and Angel first met in the summer of 2018, in the cafeteria at UC Merced. During this time, the rest of the student body was celebrating their last few days of summer before their freshman year was set to begin. Ryan was already sitting and eating a burrito when Angel passed by him. She was with a friend who recognized Ryan and introduced the two. Ryan's first words to Angel were "I like your hair" and from that moment on, she knew he was the one. By coincidence, Angel and Ryan were placed in the same dorm building, on the same floor, with their rooms just around the corner from one another. After that first day, they spent every day together and have continued to be by each other's side every day since.

Ryan and Angel finished school together and graduated in December 2022. Ryan got offered a job as a software engineer and Angel wanted to pursue policy work in Washington, DC. After graduation, they packed up their lives and drove across the country, with their two dogs, to Virginia, where Angel secured a position working on Capitol Hill. After working for a few months, Angel started studying for the LSAT's to get into law school. Ryan was incredibly supportive of her dream to become a child advocate that he encouraged her to apply to law schools all over the country. Angel happily accepted her admissions offer to UC Davis - School of Law and again packed up their stuff to move back across the country to California.

On the day of the proposal, things didn't quite go as planned... Ryan had the ring and was ready to propose on a planned trip to tour the monuments throughout D.C. However, because Angel had been feeling sick the day before, on the day they were supposed to go to the monuments, Angel asked if they could cancel the trip while they were out at lunch. Ryan didn't want to seem disappointed and agreed, but now had to figure out what to do with the ring in his pocket. He started making suggestions about other things they could do for the day that would be less strenuous, but nothing sounded good to Angel. Ryan then asked if there was ANYTHING she wanted to do or check out. Then she remembered the rose garden. Right down the street from where they were eating lunch, was a 24-acre park that was known to have incorporated a beautiful rose garden. Angel had been wanting to go for months and thought it could be their chance to see it while taking things easy for the day. They were equipped with their camera that was meant to be capturing the Lincoln Memorial, but instead it caught something more stunning. While taking pictures at the garden, Ryan suggested that they ask a park attendant to take a photo of them. When the accommodating stranger started snapping pictures, Ryan surprised Angel by getting down on one knee and presenting her with a ring. The day could not have happened any better, and they were grateful that the memory of their engagement was engrained in such a beautiful place.