We Eloped!

We met on a random trip to University of South Carolina in Columbia. Amanda was traveling back from Miami senior spring break with her girlfriends, when they decided to stop and celebrate St.Patty's Day in Columbia. Little did we know that Ryan was also visiting a close friend that same weekend. During our celebrations, we ran into each other and it turned out that our friends were also mutual friends. We ended up spending the whole evening talking in a corner and really hitting it off. Before the night ended, Amanda let Ryan know she had a college boyfriend and it was great meeting him...haha yes, Ryan was heartbroken. Amanda also had a huge crush on Ryan and eagerly became Facebook friends with him the next day. She spent the next 6 months stalking his page for more about him, but quickly found out that he never posted anything. About 6 months later, at an Alumni weekend in Radford, Amanda ran into one of Ryan's friends. After chatting and figuring out that Amanda was now single, Ryan's friend immediately texted Ryan the news. Ryan only waited a day before texting Amanda and asking her on a date. Ryan took the day off work (huge deal at the time, he never missed work) and we spent the whole day together, hiking and hanging out. Amanda ended the date with the worst hug ever (according to Ryan) and the rest is history !

We started dating in 2013 and fell head over heels for each other. In 2017 we made the big move to DC and rented our first apartment together. Living together for the first time and exploring a new city was the best adventure for us. We really grew into a team at this point in our relationship and realized we couldn't live without each other. In 2019, Ryan completely changed careers and we decided to make the trip back to Roanoke to plant some roots. We were so excited to get out of the city and be home. November 2020, Ryan surprised Amanda with the sweetest proposal to make it official. Yay, we were finally getting married!!!! Shortly after, Amanda entered to win a dream elopement in Glacier National Park. After the sweetest essay detailing our love story was sent to Montana Bride from our dear friend, Madden McGraw...we WON!!!!!!! So we are now eloping July 1st, 2021 in Glacier National Park! Wedding planning has been a breeze and with uncertain times due to COVID, we are excited about this adventure! We are most excited to share our Montana elopement and honeymoon adventure with you guys at our Happily Ever After Party in September! Thank you everyone for the support and love during this special time in our lives!