The Blancs

It began like a Hallmark movie. Big city boy, home for the holidays. Kalsee was at a friend’s party in Atascadero, and Ryan had just come home for Thanksgiving from Reno. Kalsee quietly decided he was far too cute for small talk. She went home and did what any modern romantic would do: she followed every Ryan their mutual friend followed on Instagram until she landed on the right one. That’s 2020s romance at its finest. With a little help from her friend Tawni, Ryan got a not-so-subtle nudge. One message later, and the story officially began. Their first date was a hike at Montana de Oro. Kalsee showed up determined to avoid an awkward forty-minute car ride to the actual date. The shy girl Ryan remembered from the party was nowhere to be found. Somewhere along the trail, in between favorite shows, stories, and daydreams, Ryan casually mentioned he had read A Court of Thorns and Roses. Yes, really. If Kalsee could have proposed right there, she might have. After two meetups in two days and with Ryan needing to return home to Reno, they decided to go for it. Long distance does strange things to time. The days between visits stretched on forever, and the days together vanished before they even started. For a year, they made it work with eight-hour drives and the occasional trip to meet in the middle. They explored Yosemite, Saratoga wine tasting, Mill Valley, Muir Woods, Mendocino, and Disneyland. All those miles and hours, but never enough time. Somewhere in the middle of it all, maybe on a foggy coastline or in a roadside coffee shop, they both knew this was just the beginning. After a year of impossible goodbyes and even better hellos, Ryan made the move home to Atascadero. It felt like the end of a Hallmark movie, but really, it was only the beginning. In August 2024, Ryan proposed. By October, they decided there was only one way their story should go: with Ryan’s grandfather marrying them on the cliffs in Casper. It was intimate, windswept, and quietly epic—very Anakin and Padmé. Now, after quiet mornings, long walks, a poodle, and a year of being each other’s home, they are here. They are ready to celebrate with the friends and family who have been their supporting cast since the very start. If you are reading this, you are a part of their story—a story that’s just getting started. Here’s to long drives, short weekends, old souls, new adventures, and a love that always feels like coming home.