Well, like all great love stories, Ryan and I met in a bar. I was traveling to New Orleans for a best friend's bachelorette trip (thank you, Erika!), where we ended up spending a lot of time at the bar Spirits on Bourbon St. Like any other night in New Orleans, we spent it drinking and singing loudly in the bar. Rounds of drinks started showing up at our table and our bartender, Ryan, kept claiming that "someone else sent them" or "the bottle broke and we just couldn't waste it." We thought nothing of it, until Ryan started sending drinks my way, each one served with a napkin rose. He never said anything about it; he’d hand me the drink and rose, give me a wink, and walk away. Naturally, I thought he was flirting with me. The night went on, and we stayed for a while. In fact, we stayed there until 5:30 in the morning....and guess what? Ryan never said anything else. Never asked for my number. Nothing. At. All. The next day, we all flew back to Florida and I thought that was it. It started to bug me that I’d never speak to Ryan again, so a few days later, I found him on Facebook and sent him a message. If I remember correctly, it said something like, "So you really did all that and never asked for my number?" This was apparently his plan all along because the response I received was, “Well, you found me, didn’t you?” I sent him my phone number and told him that he better not ghost me, again. And guess what? He did...for a month. By the time he finally got in touch, I had started seeing someone else and for a little while, Ryan ended up in the friend zone... Obviously the friend zone did not last long, but while it did, Ryan started weaseling his way into my life by being the kindest and most caring person. During this time, I had decided to make a big change and move to New Orleans, and having Ryan as my friend made the transition much easier and a lot less scary. Fast forward to March 2020, I had moved to NOLA and the city locked down due to COVID... Ryan and I had been on 2 dates, and I was now alone in a new city that was completely shut down, with no friends, no job, and a very new relationship. It took all of one day for me to realize that things were going to be okay, and it is all thanks to Ryan. He helped me get groceries through the period of people hoarding supplies, he introduced me to his wonderful friends so I'd feel less alone (and they are all in our wedding!), and he accompanied me anytime I needed to walk through the French Quarter. I never had to ask, he just always wanted to be there with me. Fast forward even more, Ryan and I had been dating for about 1 year. If you know Ryan well, you will know that he does not often share his innermost feelings, remaining very aloof and secretive. He decided to share with me something from the day we first met. He said, "When you first walked into the bar the day we met, I looked at you and knew you would be the person I would spend my life with. I knew that, whatever happened after that moment, we would somehow end up together.” Through all the things that happened leading up to our relationship (including Ryan being too shy to actually speak to me), and all the things that have happened since, he knew we would end up here from day one. There are lots of other details to this story, but what's important is that from the beginning to the end, we ended up exactly where he always imagined: getting married. It only felt right to share this chapter of the story with you since you will all be a part of this day with us. We can't wait to start the next chapter with you all by our sides!