It was a cold night when Elise and Ryan first met in February 2022. Peering through a neon lit Wrigleyville, surrounded by Chicagoans hustling home from their commutes, Ryan couldn’t seem to identify Elise. It was a blind date after all. A mutual friend thought maybe these two runners could hit it off. Ryan was nervous but would never admit to that now, and after several awkward minutes of staring too closely at strangers he finally saw her. Walking southeast on Clark Street—determined yet elegant, moving with the cadence of someone who was fast but didn’t feel the need to prove it—Elise Alexander had arrived. Ryan was awestruck, knowing right then and there that his search was over (at least for his blind date). They had yet to speak a single word to one another, but he knew: this was the girl he was meant to marry. And as they say, the rest is history. Or maybe that’s not exactly how events transpired… Yes, Elise and Ryan were set up by a mutual friend. Yes, their first date was hot chocolate in Wrigleyville. And yes, Elise does walk with a determination that quite contrasts her relatively small stature (the echoes of which her roommates enjoy poking fun at). However, this first encounter did not lead to a speedy mutual consensus on this couple’s unrivaled preference for one another. In actuality, hot chocolate was followed by just a handful of additional dates, the sum of which led Ryan to believe that though Elise was “sweet,” she was not the girl for him. Fast forward a year and a half, and Elise and Ryan once again crossed paths, this time on an intramural soccer team. Being the confident woman that Elise is, she was unphased by the prospect of playing on the same team as a former love interest. “You win some, you lose some,” she thought. “Dating is kind of like soccer.” Ryan, on the other hand, started to notice a different side of Elise. He was immediately struck, actually awestruck this time, by her athletic abilities, and being the confident man that Ryan is, he took no offense to the fact that Elise’s abilities may have rivaled, if not surpassed, his own (okay Elise, come on, let’s keep this factual). “Maybe there’s more to this girl than sweet,” he thought to himself. And thus began the journey of Ryan trying to remedy his past lapse in judgement. After the soccer season, Ryan quickly jumped on the opportunity to help Elise train for the Chicago marathon—an opportunity also orchestrated by the mutual friend who started it all. Over many miles, and the conversations that accompanied them, Ryan’s interest in Elise continued to grow. There was just one small problem: training together meant that once the race was completed, Ryan had no excuse to spend time with Elise! In the few months of separation following the marathon, Ryan came to personally experience the old adage: with distance the heart grows fonder. And when this fondness had finally reached its uncontainable peak, Ryan decided to reach out to Elise, asking her to… wait for it… run with him. “Genius!” he thought. Elise gladly obliged, having also quite enjoyed her time training with Ryan for the marathon, and these two were off to the races. Running together soon led to getting dinner after runs, which led to hanging out sans running, which led to two years of adventures in dating, getting to know each other, and falling in love. On December 12, 2025, Ryan asked Elise to marry him at the Humboldt Park Boat House after an evening of gallivanting around the city, visiting spots nostalgic to them. Elise was completely surprised and, of course, said yes. We are beyond excited to celebrate with you, our favorite people, on our wedding day, August 30th!