Welcome to our Happily Ever After

Our story starts as many millennials’ stories do: with two right swipes. Well, not exactly. You see, prior to matching on a dating app, Ryan and Hope suspect that members of their parish had been scheming. And so, Hope was asked to volunteer with the high school youth group, where a Mr. Ryan Durkee was “coincidentally” already a volunteer. And therein, friends, lies the true start. Ryan and Hope had their first extended conversation outside the Gaga Ball pen at church at the high school youth group’s fall kickoff. Ryan claims he was working up the courage to ask Hope out. Hope talked about taking a week off work to lounge in sweats and sit at home--after all, she was sure there was no way Ryan was single, so who cared if he thought she was a slob. The pair continued to have brief, entirely friendly conversations at youth group each week. And Hope began to eagerly await each one. And then! It happened! Ryan texted Hope about something unrelated to church. She texted back and sent an adorable picture of her dogs camping. And…Ryan left her on read. Having confirmed that Ryan was merely friendly and not romantically interested, Hope re-downloaded the dating app Bumble, where she stumbled upon Ryan’s profile. After many days of closing the app as soon as his profile appeared, and after much deliberation with her closest confidants, Hope swiped right on his profile. And they matched--Ryan had liked her too! A couple of weeks later, Ryan and Hope went on their first date. And the rest, as they say, is history. Or kind of history. Ryan and Hope moved cautiously toward a relationship, each liking the other but nervous to express as much. In spite of her feigned nonchalance, Hope fell hard for Ryan after their third date, and the pair made things official one date later. Not wanting to fumble a good thing, Ryan and Hope moved forward with love and intentionality (ask Ryan about the document of questions Hope asked him to fill out before getting engaged; and ask Hope about the myriad of flowers, Legos, and other thoughtful moments Ryan has arranged). After months of belly-aching laughs, sincere conversations, memorable dates, and mutual weirdness, Ryan proposed to Hope in the town that bears her name, Bronkhorst, Netherlands. Hope may or may not have squealed. Ryan may or may not have been so nervous that he forgot what he’d planned to say. Ryan’s Dutch family showered the newly engaged pair with immense love and celebration for the remainder of their time in the Netherlands, and Hope’s closest friends and closest family reciprocated upon the couple’s return. God is good. Some of Hope’s favorite things about Ryan are: his gentleness, how he loves her pets, his kindness and patience, his ability to marvel, and the way his weird fits her weird. Ryan feels like home. Some of Ryan’s favorite things about Hope are: the way she smiles, the way that she pushes him to be the best version of him, how she will do random dance parties in the kitchen, and how she is able to make everyday feel special. Ryan and Hope eagerly await entering into the joys and graces of the Sacrament of Marriage on June 27, 2025.