We met in Crested Butte on a camping trip organized by Amy Palace. She wasn't purposefully trying to play match maker, but we'll still give her credit. We hiked through wild flower fields, ran from the rain, got Cassie's car stuck on a mountain road, and bonded over dead flowers, Macklemore, and IPA's. Little did we know that exactly two years later we would be getting engaged. We exchanged numbers later in order to "share pictures from the trip." Soon we went and saw The Labyrinth at Red Rocks, went hiking again, and made a dinner together (slightly burned vegetables and undercooked potatoes on the grill). Work travel caused a lot of our early days to be slow moving and mainly existed through text messaging and phone calls (when there was service). At a New Years party, our friend Jill, referred to Ryan as "Cassie's thing" and about a week later, we high-fived on our newly and long overdue defined relationship. More work travel and a trip to Africa caused more long distance, but we finally both lived in the same city permanently about a year later and hope to never live apart again!

Ryan: Marriage and engagement had been the topic of conversation for some time so Cassie knew the day was coming soon and was convinced she would know when it was happening. However, I still wanted to surprise her with a fun proposal. I knew she would be suspicious of "spontaneous" hikes or out-of-character dates so I planned it on a day we had separate commitments. Melanie helped make it beautiful and with some complication, got Cassie unknowingly to where I was waiting. Cassie: I thought Ryan was at a concert with some friends and I hadn't seen my roommate, Kelly, in about a month so I decided to join her at Jazz in the Park. As soon as I pulled in, I remembered I was supposed to hang out with Melanie. She had asked earlier if we could get together for advice about a "problem" with her relationship. I quickly tried to call a Lyft, but my phone died right before the driver found me. I went back to the park to find Kelly and she gave me her phone. After a few more attempts for the driver to find me (and a couple of wrong turns later), I was finally on my way, but had no idea that Ryan was waiting at Sloan’s Lake. When I arrived, Melanie suggested a walk around the lake. It wasn't until she asked if she could take my hat and backpack that I even noticed the Gregory Alan Isacov music playing, candles, flowers, and very attractive man standing in the field by the lake. "I can't believe I'm surprised!" I said when I finally realized what was happening. The rest is a really a blur! The ring is same ring my grandfather proposed to my grandmother with in 1957 and Ryan even found a matching wedding band from the same year. Ryan: Since that day, when we are enjoying a sunset or scenic mountain view, we sometimes joke that this would have been a perfect moment to get engaged, but I really can't imagine it being any more memorable and perfect than it was.

We will be spending the first two weeks of our marriage exploring Italy together! (Ryan's first trip outside of North America). Once we get home, we will be living together in Denver and look forward to beginning a life-long journey of marriage together. Tim Keller explains beautifully what we desire in our marriage as it grows: "When over the years someone has seen you at your worst, and knows you with all your strengths and flaws, yet commits him- or herself to you wholly, it is a consummate experience. To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us." To be fully known and fully loved is an amazing thing. We know this journey will not be easy at times, but it will be worth it. We do not complete each other in any romantic Hollywood way. God has given us to each other as a means for Him to complete us. There will be many opportunities to express our love for each other by joyfully putting each other before our own wants and desires as Jesus did. We are bringing our own unique gifts and flaws into a marriage. We expect it to be both messy and beautiful.