Our story begins way back in 2008, when Mackenzie was 14 and Ryan was 12. Mackenzie’s best friend and Ryan’s cousin, Taylor, invited Mackenzie to Granny’s house for family dinner. Mackenzie was introduced to the Bradys, including Ryan. While they didn’t talk very much that first dinner, they continued to see each other periodically at family events throughout the years. Fast forward to December 2019, Mackenzie and Ryan reconnected on a dating app, hello millennial dating! Mackenzie reached out first, claiming “Hey, I think I know you,” and Ryan immediately admitted that he had been, “working up the courage to ask Taylor” for Mackenzie’s number. What fate! They exchanged their phone numbers and snapchat codes, had the typical, menial conversations one does on dating apps, and then Ryan disappeared and stopped responding with no explanation. Finally, in June 2020, after the coronavirus quarantine ended, Taylor, after lengthy conversations with Mackenzie, decided to try and get her and Ryan back in the same room together. Taylor planned an outing to TopGolf with the Brady cousins and Mackenzie to prepare for the family trip to Fripp. Both Mackenzie and Ryan showed up! They instantly picked up where they had left off in their online conversations. Ryan was forgiven for his disappearance. After that, they started spending a lot of time together, playing board games, having dinner, and returning to TopGolf. Finally, on August 3, 2020, Ryan showed up to Mackenzie’s job with flowers asking her to make it official and be his girlfriend. Since then, they have continued to play all of the card and board games they can, adopted a dog, leased their first apartment, and loved each other hard.

It is no secret that Mackenzie’s grandma, Carol, dreamed of Mackenzie finding her person. Throughout their time dating, Ryan and Mackenzie were met with the question of, “So, when is the wedding?” Ryan was often having this conversation with Carol, who knew that her dream for Mackenzie had come true. Anyone in the same room as Mackenzie and Ryan could tell they were beyond smitten with each other. They had found their soulmates within one another. Ryan, unbeknownst to Mackenzie, had bought her a ring in December 2022. He did a good job too, because it was one they had picked out together. He kept the ring hidden at Carol’s until he had a plan. In April, Mackenzie called Taylor and exclaimed, “I found a ring box!” because Ryan had hidden it in the most obvious of places–his nightstand. To be fair, Mackenzie was also on a mission to find it. Also in April, Ryan had reached out to Mackenzie’s friend, Rachel and told her, “The next time we are in Pittsburgh, I am going to propose.” At the same time, Mackenzie was already planning a trip to visit Rachel. The trip took place in June, a whole six months after Ryan had bought the ring. On June 24, 2023, Mackenzie, Ryan, Rachel and her boyfriend, Rick, and Taylor, walked into Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Anyone who knows Mackenzie knows she does not like attention in public. Mackenzie kept mentioning how everyone was acting weird. Ryan made everyone circle back to the room with a Kinky Boots display as it was empty and had a beautiful brick and floral backdrop. At the same time, Taylor had snuck Sam past Mackenzie to help capture the proposal on camera. Of course, Mackenzie was put on display as a couple of little girls walked in with their moms just as Ryan was mid-speech. Ryan, pouring his heart out to Mackenzie, was interrupted with, “There’s people walking in!” Ryan finished his speech asking, “Will you marry me?” and pulled out a watermelon Ring Pop bag containing the ring. Ryan had joked often when eating Ring Pops to propose to Mackenzie, most notably with a cherry Ring Pop. Mackenzie always declined saying she would only accept his offer if it was a watermelon Ring Pop, her favorite. Down on one knee, Ryan removed the ring they had picked out together from the watermelon Ring Pop bag, his question genuine. Mackenzie, surprised, nervous, and on full display to the public, answered irrevocably, “Yes!”