We're getting married!

Ryan and Iris first met in 2001, back in 6th grade at Lawrence Middle School. Their homeroom was Mr. Ramirez’s classroom—room 71, in the back bungalows. At the time, they were just two kids navigating through the chaos of middle school, unaware of the role they would eventually play in each other’s lives. Each day, they sat through 19 minutes of Sustained Silent Reading, never imagining that those quiet moments would one day lead to a marriage. By 8th grade, Ryan and Iris found themselves teammates in the annual homeroom football championship. Together, they helped lead Mr. Ramirez’s homeroom to a championship, cementing their friendship. Their bond carried on to Chatsworth High School, where they became even closer over the years. It wasn’t until their 11th and 12th-grade years that Ryan and Iris began sharing more of the same classes. In Mr. Hayes’s 12th-grade Economics class, Iris turned to Ryan one day and jokingly made a proposal: “If we’re not married by 30, let’s marry each other.” Without hesitation, Ryan agreed. It was a simple, lighthearted pact, but one that would linger in both of their minds as life unfolded. After high school, Ryan and Iris went their separate ways, but it seemed as if an invisible string always kept them connected. They would randomly bump into each other—at CSUN between classes, at the halftime of Laker games, and most recently, at a Dodgers game on Shohei Ohtani bobblehead night. Each time, it felt like the universe was gently reminding them of their connection. Years passed, and the friendship that began in middle school evolved into something deeper. Ryan and Iris realized that their bond had never truly faded; it had simply grown stronger over time. That invisible string had been pulling them together all along, guiding them toward a future they hadn’t fully seen coming. Now, 24 years after they first met in homeroom at Lawrence Middle School, Ryan and Iris have fulfilled the promise that began as a lighthearted agreement in Mr. Hayes’s class, 12th grade year. They’re no longer just former classmates or teammates; they are going to be husband and wife, partners in life. Their story isn’t about chance or coincidence—it’s about two lives quietly weaving together into one beautiful journey.