Ryan and Emma's fateful encounter unfolded amidst the bustling corridors of Roncalli High School, where they unknowingly brushed past each other a thousand times before destiny intervened. Their paths finally converged when Ryan, spurred by sheer curiosity, decided to dive into the world of swimming during his senior year. It was this serendipitous decision that sparked the flame of their connection, igniting a whirlwind romance that blazed brightly through the intense rhythm of the swim season, only to be extinguished too soon. They would go on to face their own individual journeys for eight years before the magic of Bumble brought them together again. Yet life had not thrown them its last challenge, as Ryan had already signed his contract and was due to ship out soon after that opening chat was sent. Emma, in her steadfast dedication to him, did not let that hinder her resolve. Ryan shipped out in January 2022, after being dropped off by Emma herself. Two weeks went by before Ryan was able to receive mail in Basic Training, but not another day passed after that when he didn’t receive a letter in Emma’s signature brown envelopes, still some of his most prized possessions. Twelve weeks later, the couple was afforded 6 hours of time together before Ryan got on a bus to Ft. Moore, GA. Another 6 weeks went by before Emma and Ryan were able to communicate again. During the later stages of Ryan’s training, his company was offered weekend passes where soldiers were given the opportunity to leave the training area for the first time. This was all Emma needed to hear to pack her bags and make that drive every chance she could just to steal precious moments, sometimes not even knowing if she would even be able to see Ryan. Upon graduating, Ryan was able to return home for a single weekend before packing up his things and moving to Ft. Gregg-Adams. However, this time, he was joined by Emma. The couple spent four short months in Virginia before once again packing up their things and driving across the country to Central Texas where they now reside. Through all the hard times and changes, the only constant has been the steadfast love shared between the two of them. Ryan and Emma would like to invite you to celebrate this story and this love on their wedding day.

She was the shy reader. He was the new kid on the swim team. During their senior year at Roncalli, Emma and Ryan were introduced by a mutual friend. Emma started driving him and his friend to swim practice daily because both boys kept ‘forgetting’ to buy their own parking pass. After practice, Emma and Ryan would sit in the school parking lot for sometimes hours talking and laughing. But, Part I of this love story ended a mere six or seven weeks later, and the two went their separate ways. They graduated high school, then Emma went up to Muncie, and Ryan went south to Bloomington. For some crazy reason, they both stayed in school and got Master’s degrees. In the fall of 2021, they matched on Bumble and had their second first date at a cute brunch spot in downtown Indy. That fall, they carved pumpkins, played board games, watched movies, bouldered, skied, shopped, and spent their first New Years together quarantined. Locked together for 10 days, watching the Twilight movies and ordering food delivery, Emma and Ryan were sick but never got sick of each other. They had a few great months together, always with Ryan’s impending leave for Army in the back of their minds. Ryan shipped off for basic training mid-January and was gone for ten weeks. Romantic Emma bought some brown envelopes and started writing letters to her soldier off at war. He’d stay up late after training all day to write her back, and they continued getting to know each other by pen as the weeks went on. She drove with Ryan’s parents down to North Carolina for his graduation and a weekend at the beach. The next week he moved on to Officer Candidate School in Georgia and was gone for another twelve weeks. This time though, he got his phone, and Emma was kind of allowed to visit him on the weekends. She took off a few Fridays and made the ten hour trip to hang out with her soldier and sneak him and his friends coffee, since caffeine was prohibited during training. Emma, Rick, Terri, Megan, and Joe drove down for Ryan’s next graduation, and then he was finally allowed to come back to Indy for a few days. He packed up all of their stuff in a uhaul and drove to Virginia, his next assigned destination. It was difficult for Emma to leave her family, but it was an easy decision for her to follow Ryan around for his military career. They lived in Petersburg, VA for four months while he was at yet another training, and Emma started working remotely keeping her same job. They packed it all up again and drove twenty hours down to Killeen, TX, where they’ve lived for a year and a half. Emma and Ryan spend their evenings and weekends playing games, eating pizza, practicing their British accents, and more recently singing to their new dog, Gibson. Emma never had a pet growing up and was so not a dog person, but Ryan convinced her, and now she loves Gibson just as much as Ryan does. Over the last couple of years, they’ve become best friends and have grown a strong relationship that stands the test of distance. They are excited to take this next step and welcome you to join in the big day! With Love, Emma and Ryan