Faith had been bartending at the local tavern just down the country block. Throughout the summer, Ryan had come in as a customer—more than a few times. After a few months of asking for her number, as he was losing hope he asked one more time—and to his surprise, Faith gave it to him. A couple of weeks later, Ryan reached out and asked her on their first date. It was September, though—and we all know what that means: antler chaos, football, and forgotten plans. Ryan, forgot to put the date in his calendar. So that random Tuesday evening, the dinner at Texas Roadhouse never happened. Faith, unimpressed, didn’t bother to reach out that night—or anytime after. That could’ve been the end of it… until Ryan walked back into the bar a few weeks later. With a sheepish grin, he asked for a second chance and how could Faith say no to that?

Ryan got the ring back in June 2024, and he made sure it was super safe—so safe, in fact, that it was in a box, inside another box, inside a box, stored in his gun safe. Faith needed to get into the safe a few times over the summer, and every time she tried, Ryan came up with some wild excuse like, “Well, you must be putting the code in wrong!” when Faith tried to open it herself. Ryan had cleverly gotten Faith’s “ring size” from one of her existing rings, completely unaware that it wasn’t even for her ring finger. In August, while shopping for some new jewelry, Faith pulled out her ring sizer, and that’s when Ryan realized, with a horrifying feeling in his stomach, that he’d gotten the wrong size—about two sizes too big. Panic mode engaged! Ryan thought he’d be clever and ask Faith to take a box to UPS for him. The box, of course, had the ring in it. Faith, completely oblivious as usual, took the box and returned her own ring. So, in September, Ryan received the ring back with the correct sizing. Fast forward to the moment of truth. Ryan had already asked Kris for permission (and Kris, of course, approved). With their two-year anniversary coming up, Ryan started planning a weekend getaway. On October 18th, they had a nice dinner at Wards in Milwaukee, enjoying some delicious prime rib. The next morning, October 19th, Faith was getting ready for their favorite fall activities: hiking, a corn maze, and picking pumpkins to carve. Faith was dressed for hiking, while Ryan, in his finest good jeans, flannel, and cowboy boots (his version of "formal"). Faith had a hunch something was up. But feeling underdressed compared to his “fall” look, switched outfits (Ryan’s sneaky form of reverse psychology) and even put on some makeup. They had breakfast at Faith’s favorite hometown diner, then made their way to Devil’s Lake for a hike. Faith was driving, and when they arrived, the GPS suggested one parking lot, but Ryan insisted they try the other lot. Faith, knowing that lot would be packed, tried to convince him otherwise, but Ryan wasn’t having it. He found what he claimed was a “spot,” and they parked. As they walked toward the lake, a woman approached them, saying she was a photographer building her portfolio and offering to take some free photos. Faith, being familiar with this scenario, agreed without a second thought. What she didn’t know was that Ryan had secretly hired the photographer. A few pictures later, as the beautiful lake sparkled in the background, Ryan got down on one knee and proposed to Faith. And here we are, planning our special day with all of you!