Ryan and Anna planned to have a small wedding, with just a handful of members from their immediate families. They knew January in Dallas could be cold, sure, but an unseasonably warm start to 2026 left them feeling confident in the plan to host the nuptials outdoors at a friend's home. Then Fern, as the Weather Channel named the winter storm, descended not only upon North Texas, but the most of the middle and eastern United States. Nearly every one of their best-laid plans changed, but the most important detail remained the same: the couple were blessed enough to marry each other. Anna and Ryan married at The Graduate Hotel near Southern Methodist University on the afternoon of Jan. 24. Anna's uncle, Don, performed the ceremony, and her mom, Amy, put together the florals. The couple pivoted from a sit-down dinner over dim sum for their reception to a pizza party in the lobby of the hotel. While the backdrop wasn't the way they planned it, it was still a day packed with faith, family, joy and love, which is what they'd always wanted. The couple plan to honeymoon in Italy in May. Where it most will certainly not be snowing. Anna and Ryan look forward to celebrating their marriage with you the next time they are in your neck of the woods.

Anna isn’t sure Ryan was as over dating, and specifically dating apps, when they matched in June 2024 as she was. But how else were you supposed to meet someone these days? (Today, Ryan says he was over apps, too.) The couple agreed to meet at the Dallas Farmers Market for their first date, after a few weeks of messaging mainly about their families and the Boston Celtics beating up on the Dallas Mavericks during the NBA Finals. The farmers market seemed, to both, a low-pressure way to get out of a not-good date within an hour if the connection didn’t translate face to face. Neither wanted to waste their own time or the other’s. Three hours slipped by as Anna picked up the season’s first peaches on that late June morning, and Ryan offered to carry them. They sipped on sweet teas and walked the same aisles, eyeing the same stalls, and always talking. Anna doesn't like walking in circles typically, but didn’t mind so much that day. They said their goodbyes around lunchtime, and Ryan still regrets not asking Anna to go to brunch afterward. Ryan kept asking Anna out, and Anna kept going, curious about the transplant to Texas. About a month after the farmers market, Ryan took out Anna for her half-birthday, a holiday she celebrated and others did too, begrudgingly. Ryan bought Anna half a dozen roses and two halves of two tasty cookies, and later they halved a pizza. “This is what it feels like to date someone thoughtful,” Anna reflected. The thoughtfulness and kindness haven’t stopped in the nearly two years since. Anna and Ryan have discovered a mutual passion for cooking (hey, she only “matched” with him in the first place because he was wearing a chef’s coat since she’d gone to culinary school!); their love of family; their eagerness to discover more of Dallas together; and of course, the adoration of Anna’s stubborn, sensitive nine and a half-year-old beagle, Finn. As for the other details, Anna grew up in Austin, before graduating from Wake Forest University in North Carolina, living in Austria and New York City, and landing in Dallas 10 years ago. She currently works as the food editor for the local newspaper. Ryan hails from the Boston area, attended schools in Rhode Island and is an alum of Boston College. In his mid-20s, he was offered an opportunity to relocate as part of a headquarters move to Dallas and works in health care finance. Added serendipity: Anna helped break the news of that very headquarters relocation to the area when she worked at a business publication. They recently bought a home together in Dallas near Northpark Center and are working on making it their own.