We Still Do!

I met Ryan in 2016 while attending the University of Arizona. I was working at Illegal Petes (basically Chipotle with a bar) when Ryan was hired and I was tasked to show him the ropes! An immediate friendship grew and every time I needed him, no matter what, Ryan was always there for me. Even when I got him fired... which he's still mad about... oops. We were friends for a year or so until we finally admitted we had feelings for each other. I don't know what I did to be able to have him in my life, but I knew from the moment I met him he was special.

I planned an adventure filled weekend at the hidden oasis of Catalina Island off the coast of California. I suck at keeping surprises from Jess though I did my best. The morning of, we drove at the crack of dawn to LA to get there for the first ferry to the island. The entire way it was like I had a gnat buzzing around my ear guessing where we might be going. It wasn’t until we had gotten lost in the labyrinth of the port of LA did she finally guess correctly. Seeing the excitement light up her eyes filled me to the brim with joy. On the boat ride we talked about our lives together and it was clear that she knew what this trip was for. Again, I suck at keeping surprises a secret from this one. After spending the day on peddle-boats, scuba diving, and biking around the island I saw a gorgeous restaurant right on the beach. I (not-so-discreetly) called them right up and got us a reservation for dinner. We got dressed to the nines and walked down the boardwalk, ring in my pocket. We sat down and the clock started ticking. All day I tried to find the perfect moment, it wasn’t until I looked up at her and realized, this is and always has been perfection staring at me. I “went to the bathroom”, handed my phone to the host hoping he would capture the moment. I went back, got down on one knee, and asked my love to join me on this crazy ride we call life. I may have stuttered and forgotten a few words but she said yes (thank god)!

While planning our wedding for the summer of 2020, Ryan was also planning to join the Navy. Around October of 2019 we received news that his ship date for bootcamp wasn't going to be immediate like we thought but in April of 2020. Calculating the days there would have been a wedding with no groom! We decided, after a few months of realization that we weren't going to have our 2020 wedding, to elope! Las Vegas started out as a joke, but the more we thought about it the more appealing it became. We reached out to a few friends to join us and a week later(!!!) got married at the famous Little White Chapel. There's no better place to celebrate than Vegas! Besides Ocean Point of course (; It was a blessing in disguise as Covid would have impacted our original plan even more than the Navy. Everything worked out and we can't wait to renew our vows in front of our friends and family in 2022!