"There won't be nothin' but big ol' hearts dancin' in our eyes" -John Prine

The very first time we met was at our local cheese shop. Ryan had just started cheesemongering in Denver, and Rachel worked two storefronts down and desperately needed a snack. We would love to say this is where it all started, but we'll need to skip ahead a few years. After a while of being casual acquaintances, we eventually connected in 2018 with the nudge of mutual friends. You know what they say, timing is everything! We knew we had a connection, so Rachel slid into Ryan's DMs and suggested he ask for her number. Glad he took the hint, because Ryan asked Rachel out for a musical date seeing Dr. Dog at the Ogden Theater... and the rest is history.

After an interesting year of isolation in our tiny apartment, we learned a lot about each other and how to work together through difficult moments. On the last night of 2020, New Year's Eve, Ryan had waited patiently for Rachel to finish taking her sweet time freshening up. Love songs were playing in the living room, Ryan was pacing in front of the Christmas tree, and Rachel had all but noticed. Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton came on just as Rachel was finished getting ready, when Ryan asked her to dance. We slow-danced for a bit until Ryan got down on one knee. There were shaky hands, tears, and laughs all around.