Ryan and Dani first met in 2018 while both working as district managers at Frito Lay. At the time, Ryan lived in Milwaukee and Dani lived in Madison. Ryan regularly visited mutual work friends in Madison on the weekends, and it was fate that the two met when Ryan was invited to a game night at Dani’s apartment. Dani knew there was something special about Ryan when she realized he was more interested in her cats than in the games the rest of the group was playing – for those that know Dani well, you know that is a huge deal! After their first "date" on New Year’s Eve, they continued to see each other every weekend after. Almost four years later, they now reside in Brookfield with their fur children, Joey & Phoebe.

In August of 2020, Dani & Ryan were visiting their favorite summer vacation spot in Sister Bay, WI with close friends and family. They had spent the day on the water with their friends Kevin, Erin, Hunter, and Karl, and then returned back to the condo to relax and get ready for "a last minute dinner reservation" with Ryan's parents, Mary & Jim. Dani wasn’t even a little suspicious when everyone casually agreed to head down to the marina before dinner to get a group picture at sunset. As they walked down towards the shoreline, Dani saw a professional photographer taking pictures of the water. She did not want to bother him, but Ryan insisted he go ask the photographer to come take the group photo. During this time, Ryan's parents were down "cleaning the boat" and acting busy! After some convincing, the photographer graciously came over to take the group picture. After a few quick shots, everyone backed away, leaving Ryan and Dani standing in front of the photographer. Ryan had secretly planned the entire event and hired this photographer, and before Dani could even blink, Ryan was down on one knee asking her to 'make him the happiest man alive and marry him'. To add to the surprise, Dani's parents, Steve & Cherie, had driven up to Door County to be there for this amazing moment and were hiding behind a bush waiting for Ryan to pop the question! Dani & Ryan were surrounded by everyone they loved as they popped champagne and toasted in celebration. It truly was one of the most exciting and special moments of their lives!