Ryan and Britany happened to enroll in the same Business Statistics class in the fall semester of 2015. They sat next to each other the entire semester, only making small talk on a few occasions. Ryan made note of where Britany signed her name on the class sign-in sheet so he could friend her on Facebook, but still nothing further. In the last week of the class, finals week, Ryan decided it was time, and sent Britany a message on Facebook messenger, asking for a formula to study for the final, that was very obviously on the formula sheet with the study guide. But it was a good start and they continued talking and realized how much they had in common.

After a few dates, Ryan and Britany officially started dating on February 7, 2016. They went on many adventures together including seeing Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theatre, Holiday World Trips, and the Bell family vacation to Florida where they went to Universal and Disney. Ryan introduced Britany to wakeboarding, shooting a gun, and LAN parties. Britany introduced Ryan to the Illinois State Fair and All Time Low and Bowling for Soup (in concert of course). Together, they graduated EIU in Dec 2017, moved to Effingham, both got hired at full-time jobs, and adopted their sweet fur-baby Ripley.

On a normal Wednesday after work, Ryan and Britany took Ripley for a walk to the park. They stopped to sit on a stump and enjoy the day while Ripley ran around on her leash. Ryan’s heart was racing and Britany was clueless. Ryan called Britany over. He asked her if, “since all you need is your family, why dont we start our own. Will you Marry Me?” And he got down on his knee and pulled out the ring. Britany, in shock and speechless, nodded her head yes and raised a shaky hand to put the ring on. The rest of the day was all smiles.