We matched on a dating app in June 2022. We started texting and the threads were long. We talked for several days, then went on our first date. It was the longest first date, and the best first date anyone could ask for. We hiked the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia, ate breakfast, went to a winery, and played putt putt at Strange Duck Brewing Company. Ryan learned how terrible Rachel is at putt putt, but still fell in love anyway. (Rachel *swoons*). Rachel even got to meet the love of Ryan's life, August on that fateful day. We never stopped talking. From the first messages in the app to a cross-country road trip to this very moment, this has been the best on-going conversation of our lives.

Ryan proposed to Rachel on April 14, 2023 in Greenville, South Carolina. We went to Greenville in October 2022. It was our first trip together. We had so much fun walking our dogs around the city and through Falls Park on the Reedy River. We loved the dog-friendly restaurants and stores in addition to opportunities to experience the outdoors. When we returned to Greenville in April, we went on a walk after we checked in to our hotel and on that walk, after a few thwarted stops, Ryan proposed to Rachel at the bottom of the water fall in the park. A kind couple took a picture that we both hated, but that photo will not be featured here or anywhere.