We originally met in Spanish class sophomore year of high school, when we were working on a group skit together. Funny enough, we were on a date in the skit and our friend was the waitress serving us. The skit ended with Ryan getting very upset because I sat on his imaginary friend, Pipo. He still doesn't let me live this down. Fast forward to the summer after sophomore year, we hadn't really talked since that skit. We have a mutual friend, Joanna, who invited both of us to the beach to hang out. That day led to a summer of me trying to give Ryan hints that I was crushing on him. Then at the end of the summer in August, he finally got the hint and asked me out while we were on a bike ride in the Hamptons.

A few months before her birthday, Jade and her friend Anneliese decided they should do a ski trip to Montana in February to celebrate. We invited a handful of friends to come join us for the birthday weekend, but Jade didn't know what I had planned up my sleeve. The first surprise of the weekend was when we arrived at the airport in Bozeman. I had told Jade that my brother Blake was coming from RI and we needed to wait for his flight to get in, but little did she know that I had also secretly flew out our friend and the person who first introduced us, Joanna! Jade loved this "birthday surprise" and I knew that the weekend had only just begun. On the 17th we skied during the day and then took a Snocat up the mountain to the Timberline Cafe where we all had a lovely dinner and sampled many different wines, delicious meals, and even some amazing gluten-free bread. The next day was Jade's birthday and feigning that I was too fatigued from skiing the day before, I let the crew all go enjoy the mountain while I got everything prepared for that evening. It was a chilly evening (a brisk 8 degrees) with light snow sprinkling overhead when we pulled up to the Lone Mountain Ranch and were greeted at the door and told to walk around to the back. Around the corner waiting for us were Eddie and Pete, two draft horses pulling a large sleigh covered in warm blankets. We took pictures and hopped in the sleigh, Jade still thinking this was an over-the-top birthday surprise, and began our ride to the corral atop a snowy ridge. After a few horse puns from our sleigh's coachman, we found ourselves at an open corral with a fire pit and a few bottles of 2009 Cristal champagne. As the sun began to set over Lone Mountain, in the distance, I began to give a toast and not too long after got down on one knee and asked "Jade Marie DeGiacomo, Will you marry me?" to which her immediate response was "Shut up ... YES!".