We're So excited to celebrate with you!

Ryan and I met each other almost 10 years ago this year. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I was at my friend Sarah's house and she invited some of our friends over. One of her friends Kevin, was bringing his step brother over. Sarah kept telling me that they were bringing Ryan over to meet me. I was so nervous so like every high school freshman I stalked his social media. I remember thinking this is the cutest guy I have ever seen. Fast forward to later that night and they had arrived. I was upstairs finishing up getting ready and I heard them come through the door. I walked to the top of the stair case and there he was. I felt my knees getting weak and I was immediately smitten. It truly was love at first sight. I was completely taken by him. I believe we hung out all weekend. When the end of the weekend came I remember thinking (at the age of 14 lol) I am going to marry this man someday.

Ryan and I met when we were 14. I knew one day I was going to marry this man and I know what you are thinking, Lora you are 14 no you are not. Ryan and I's relationship did not start off immediately. This was due to me living in Griffin and him living in Canton. At 14 with no driver's license it would be impossible for us to even start a relationship. We continued to stay friends and keep in touch here and there and that was it for a while. By the time we were able to drive he had a girlfriend and I had a boyfriend. The timing just wasn't right. By the time we graduated high school I was yet again in another relationship. The timing was not right again. In 2016, we happened to run into each other at a bar. We both happened to be single. We hung out for the majority of the night but went our separate ways when it was time to go home. Next thing we knew time had gone by and yet again we were in relationships but still kept in touch. Over the years after 2016, Ryan had tried to come visit me in Athens several times. I kept shooting him down. I think deep down I was terrified of him and what he meant to me. I just was not ready for him. I had to go through things with other people and grow from those to realize what I wanted. In November of 2020 I remember me and my best friend Anna were hanging out talking about life and boys and I mentioned him to her. She has heard me talk about him for YEARS. As soon as I brought up reaching out to him again and trying to finally be with him she was all for it!! (Thank you for the push Anna) I finally sent Ryan a text to see if he even wanted to talk or catch up with me. Ryan and I talked every day for months. We finally agreed to spend New Years Eve weekend together. That weekend was the best weekend of my life. I finally found my place with my soul mate. From then on we have been inseparable.

As soon as Ryan and I started officially dating we knew we didn't want to waste anytime! We had wasted 10 years not being together and we refused to waste anymore. The both of us always knew that we wanted to get married to each other we just didn't know when. I started joking around with him about buying engagement rings and proposing all the time. One day we were getting our nails done and walked over to the Kohl's next door. For everyone who knows me they KNOW I LOVE Opals. I found an entire Opal collection at Kohl's. There were necklaces, earrings and rings. I immediately was drawn towards a necklace and told Ryan how much I loved it. Then I looked over in the case beside it and saw this beautiful Opal ring. I told Ryan that if he were to buy me an engagement ring this is what I wanted it to look like. Little did I know just a few weeks later he went back and bought it. Fast forward to June! Ryan, me, Baleigh and Camden had been planning a trip together to Venice Beach, Florida for a long weekend. I just thought that this was a regular old vacation and nothing special. We had an incredible weekend with each other. On the last day we got dressed up all nice and went out to dinner. Ryan kept talking about going to the beach to see the sunset after dinner and taking pictures. I was of course down. On the way to the beach we passed a jewelry store and I said "Hey, there is a jewelry store if you want to stop and buy me a ring!". We joked and laughed it off and made it to the beach at the end of the sunset. There we were taking pictures and goofing around. I thought we finished taking them until Ryan asked me for one more. I turned around and he was down on his knee. I think I blacked out during the actual engagement because I was so shocked. It was the beautiful Opal ring from Kohl's! We both cried so hard and told each other how much we loved each other. I was genuinely surprised and it's very hard to surprise me!