We're Getting Married!

Kate and Ryan first learned of each other's existence thanks in part to match.com. Ryan caught Kate's eye and of course she made the first move by messaging him on the site. Once Ryan mentioned his love of Jurassic Park and velociraptors, Kate knew they had to meet. Again Kate pursued a date and next thing you know they were having their first of many marathon dates. The first official date was preceded by a drop in on Ryan while he was working. A few of Kate's friends had wanted to go bowling...and of course wanted to go to Ryan's work to do so. The group had a great time, made even sweeter by the free game passes for the arcade Ryan gave to the ladies. Kate went home looking forward to the next day. The marathon date first started off at Wasena Tap Room for brunch, where the couple discussed a wide array of topics. Then not wanting the date to end, they took off for a walk along the Roanoke Valley Greenway. After that Kate decided to take Ryan to two local breweries, Parkway and Soaring Ridge. To cap the date off on a high note, the couple ventured up to Mill Mountain Star to take in a view of the city. Overall the date lasted over 5 hours and before they parted Kate just had to kiss Ryan for the first time. They have been on many marathon dates and shared many kisses since then.

It was almost a year the lovely couple had been dating each other and Ryan already knew he wanted to be with Kate for the rest of his life. One day before their 1 year anniversary, Ryan suggested they go on a cruise to celebrate. Kate loved the idea and tickets were booked. The ring had already been purchased at this point. The short 5 day cruise had a wonderful Captain's dinner on the second night of the voyage. Everyone gets dressed up and looking fancy, and this was the perfect time Ryan decided to pop the question. Now we all know plans never go the way our minds envision, no matter how much the planning and effort, but that is where the story gets good. Ryan planned to take Kate to the earlier Captain's dinner, then with all the photographers around the boat, go outside and propose at the bow of the boat. Then they could take wonderful photos together while dressed nicely with the new ring and joyful smiles. Well these things never go as planned. After getting ready, Kate wasn't feeling ready for dinner and wanted to go to the bar first for a drink. Of course this kind of threw off Ryan's plans as he didn't want it to be too dark outside when he proposed. So the couple went to the bar and had a cocktail. Then Kate really wanted to get pictures taken before dinner. This was now really not going according to plan. See the longer they waited to go to dinner, would mean the sunlight would be fleeting and ruin the plans. So a little disagreeing went on between Ryan and Kate on when they should take the pictures. Ryan did his best to get her to understand he wanted to take pictures after dinner, and hopefully the lines and waits would be shorter. Ryan eventually won, and they went to dinner, but not without a slightly grumpy Kate. Dinner was not their most loving moment, but they enjoyed their meal together. Continue to Part 2 to finish the wonderful story. Zola is dumb and has a character cap. No cap should be put on our love story.

As the story continues... The loving couple were now done with dinner and Ryan knew he had to get Kate on out the bow of the ship. The lighting and more private moment would still be perfect for the question. This was also met with some push back from Kate as she didn't want to go outside, however some clever talk by Ryan convinced her it would be a good idea. Once at the spot Ryan had scouted, it was time for the big question. There was one thing Ryan needed, for another cruise guest to hopefully come out to the bow and help take a picture of them. Little did Kate and the guest know this would be a very special moment. After a few minutes, it looked like another plan that was not going to the way it was thought up. Then a family came outside to take a look. A lovely couple and their kids. Ryan knew it was the best time. He asked the woman if she could help take a picture of them. After a couple of photos, and knowing Ryan, he hates photos, it was odd that he asked for more. Then after inspecting the photos again, and probably getting on the kind woman's nerves a little, he asked for one more. Now as you may have guest, this was a very special moment, only meant to be captured in a photo, however the lady taking the photos was very quick to switch to a video mode when Ryan got down on one knee. Ryan told Kate - "Katelyn Elizabeth Stackpole, you are the love of my life and will you do the honor of being my wife?" Kate began to nod her head rapidly. Even though the wind was blowing, and the mood wasn't super before, Ryan knew he nailed it and Kate was overjoyed with their engagement. The rest of the evening was tons of smiles, fancy photos, and loving moments by the newly engaged couple. The couple had committed to each other for the rest of their lives, and it is a decision they knew was right. We hope you all enjoyed our story of love and hope to see you at our wedding!