Ryan was flying back to Tampa from the Witcher wedding in Vermont and I was commuting to Tampa for a Haggerty family vacation. Airline commuting is a coin toss as to what seat you are going to be assigned. I ended up with a middle seat next to a coworker and Ryan ended up being in the window seat. My personal iPad just kicked the bucket (or at least that’s what I thought) and Ryan was in his seat with his iPad on his tray table. I tapped his should and asked how well he knows his way around an iPad. Ryan’s exact response is going to the grave with him so whoever can get it out of him please feel free to remind me of his amazing pick up line. Being much more patient with electronics Ryan was able to “fix” my iPad and make it power it on. Myself realizing that he has just saved me a trip to the Genius Bar at Apple I offered to buy him drinks on the flight back to Tampa. Three hours later and quite a few glasses of wine we exchanged phone numbers. The next day Ryan asked me out to coffee and the rest is history.

By this time, my plans for proposing to Kelly had been blown to smithereens.

We were spending time in St Augustine at a friends house a block away from the beach. We planned to get up and watch the sunrise one morning and also decided to do a yoga class. Side note Ryan got into photography while we were living in Orlando and while in Orlando we have numerous sunset pictures BUT no sunrise pictures. So back in St Augustine the alarm goes off and I get out of bed to pack the bag with towels, our speaker to listen to the yoga class on our phone, and all the camera equipment. Asking if we have all the camera stuff needed I’m given a very confident YES from Ryan. We get out of the house and about 100 yards away and Ryan says “I really think I should have brought the other lens for the camera”. I tell him if wants it he better go back to the house and get it which is what he does. We get to the beach and Ryan sets up the camera stuff and I set up the yoga stuff. After a gorgeous sunrise and yoga session we’re both sitting on the end of towels enjoying the view. Ryan asks me to walk down to the water with him. I immediately say a NO because I’m in yoga pants and a sports bra and don’t want to be in any of the pictures that are being taken. A few minutes later Ryan doesn’t ask this time he says “lets go down to the water and I’ll photoshop us out of the pictures”. We both stand, walk to the water, and realizing how far away we are from the camera I think it would be fun to actually have a picture of us in this moment. I tell Ryan we should turn around and “pose” for a picture and when I turn to face the camera and put my arm around Ryan for a picture he is down on one knee holding the most beautiful diamond ring in his hands asking me to marry him. After numerous times of me asking if this real I finally said YES!!!!!!