We're Getting Married!

Our tale begins on March 6, 2011 – before Stanley, before Ryan developed his arguably unhealthy obsession with Phish, and before Joy became a genuine blonde. It was Freshman year of college and Mardi Gras was in full swing in New Orleans. As evening descended on a day of carousal and parading at the Circle formerly known as “Lee” (for Robert E Lee who disgraced this country as a traitor to our flag), two groups of friends, feeling just brave enough after a healthy amount of day drinking, struck up a conversation. Joy and Ryan were introduced and, one could say, they hit it off right away although it wasn’t Joy and Ryan who first ended up in a relationship after the Mardi Gras introduction. Nonetheless, they were able to keep in touch over the next couple months and years and, well after their friends had broken things off, officially started their own relationship in the Spring of 2013. Maintaining a long distance relationship was a challenge, but not one Joy and Ryan’s undying love could not overcome (albeit with a minor interim “break” but we won’t talk about that). After almost 2 years of monthly road trips to and from Dallas, Joy moved to New Orleans in February 2015 and picked up right where she left off with Ryan – this is true love after all and he is hard to resist. The next couple years were what they were: Ryan and Joy grew closer together, making new friends and a life for themselves in New Orleans. Then, a miracle happened: enter Stanley.

For those who don’t know Stanley, you should know that he is indeed the cutest and most loveable dog ever. Joy was introduced to Stanley by a family she worked for after they found him wandering around the dirty New Orleans streets, covered in fleas, but no less cute than he is today. They couldn’t house another dog, so Joy immediately agreed to take him in. Stanley would become like a fluffy white glue holding Joy and Ryan together, not that they were coming loose though. Raising Stanley into the man he is today would bring Joy and Ryan even closer together. They taught him to "sit", "shake", and even to wait for permission before diving into his food. Stanley wasn't like all other dogs, he didn't play with toys much but oddly would toss bones across the room for fun sometimes. It became clear, to Ryan especially, that Stanley was a very special boy, in more ways than one. Ryan made it his life's mission to love and protect Stanley and, in turn, Stanley would give him the same affection and devotion. Joy surely noticed, but didn't become jealous because she knew, deep down, that Ryan's way with the dog meant he would make a suitable husband for her as well. But she was getting a bit impatient... FINALLY, shortly after Stanley’s second anniversary (we don’t know his birthday, nor how old he was when he was found) Ryan proposed.

On April 6, 2019, Ryan popped the question in New Orleans’ Crescent Park. Where Joy thought she was simply running out for brunch with Ryan’s relatives before her friend’s (Patty’s) engagement party, she was in for something much different. Ryan surprised her at the park with a ring and finally hit the knee. She said yes, of course. After excitedly sitting through breakfast after-the-fact, they went back home to get supplies for Patty’s party. But Patty’s party was just another fake out. As many of Joy’s friends that could had come to town to surprise her for her own special surprise engagement party. Joy was elated, as was Ryan, of course, he had officially landed Joy now and gotten a “yes”. And that brings us to today. Please join Joy and Ryan in New Orleans on June 19th, 2021 for a “Fun Couple” Wedding in the truest sense. They have a lot of great fun planned for their friends and family for the weekend and are excited to see everyone! Explore the website to get a feel for the city, weekend and all that’s planned, including hotel accommodations and keep checking back because there’s more to come! Hope to see you here!