E&R

HOW WE MET Elizabeth and Ryder’s love story began like all great love stories... at a college dance party. It was her first week at Oregon State, and after one soggy social event, Elizabeth was ready to call it quits on the whole socializing thing. But her mom guilt-tripped her into trying again, so she showed up at the Battle of the DJs… and that’s where she spotted Ryder, tall, dark-haired, pretty-eyed, and oh, crowd surfing. They barely spoke that night, but Elizabeth came back the next. Ryder was more grounded (literally), and they danced, laughed, and eventually made a late-night McDonald’s run. That’s when Elizabeth made the boldest rom-com move yet: She paid. That $20 sealed the deal, Ryder was hers. They stayed up talking until sunrise. What started as a chaotic night somehow turned into their forever. THE PROPOSAL Last summer, while Elizabeth was out of town, Ryder spent the weekend camping, and somewhere between the fresh air and too much time to think, he had a lightbulb moment: it was time to make the dream a reality. Like any Oregon kid raised on radio ads, he headed straight to Shane Co. ("Open every day of the week!") and called up his best man, Garrett, to help pick out the ring. The logic? After one slightly tipsy night, Elizabeth had declared that she and Garrett had the same ring size. So clearly, he was the perfect hand model. Spoiler: they did not have the same ring size. The ring had to be resized later. Oops. Despite the fact that Ryder and Elizabeth work together, he somehow managed to sneak around without blowing the surprise. He called her parents, made secret plans, and even arranged for her mom to be there for the big moment. All while acting totally normal. All week, Elizabeth was trying to catch him slipping. She dropped hints: “Should I get my nails done? Buy a new dress?” Ryder, notorious for being terrible at keeping secrets, somehow didn’t crack. In fact, when they got home from work on the big day and she started to change into a dress, he said, “Just stay in your slacks.” Can you imagine? Slacks. For proposal photos. That night, they went to a fancy wine bar in Lake Oswego. Ryder convinced Elizabeth to treat herself to the filet mignon, which turned out to be the size of a half dollar with no sides. Devastating. But he saved the evening with a suggestion: ice cream after dinner. On their way there, Elizabeth tried to stop at the grocery store to grab Hot Cheetos for their post-dinner TV binge. Ryder insisted they wait. He steered her toward a quiet fountain and kept saying, “Look how pretty it is!” Unfortunately, it was dark and she couldn’t see anything. And before she knew it, Ryder dropped to one knee and asked her to marry him. She said yes, of course. His friends (tasked with getting it on video) missed the moment entirely due to some... questionable map-reading, but it didn’t matter. Elizabeth was in shock, beaming, and ready for ice cream and forever. But Ryder wasn’t done yet. As they walked past the ice cream shop, Elizabeth was confused until he opened the door to the bar next door, where all of their friends were waiting… including her mom. Surprise party = nailed. They ended the night with drinks, happy tears, and a trip to their favorite bar. A pretty ring, ice cream for dinner, and a room full of love. It was everything she never saw coming, and absolutely perfect.