Welcome friends and family, we're tying the knot!

Who knew that dating apps would actually work out? But with both of us being newcomers to Central Washington and not knowing many people, we decided to give it a shot, and well here we are! It all started in October 2020 with Ryan's claim to fame on his profile that he owned 7 (SEVEN!!!) different coffee makers and needed help... and Sylvana wrote back saying that's no problem because she didn't own a single one, but she had her own addiction... to milk (the nectar of the Gods), and had 3 gallons of the stuff in her fridge at that moment. Although Ryan doesn't drink milk (he doesn't know what he's missing out), Ryan found that funny, and we kept talking. Between Thanksgiving and work travel it took a while, but we finally met up the weekend of Ryan's PhD commencement while he was on his way back home to Yakima. Ryan told his family that he had to leave the post-graduation festivities early to up meet with a friend from grad school for dinner, but unbeknownst to them it was actually for our first date! We met at a lovely little Thai restaurant by the Columbia River, and had a great time with good food and better company. Ryan was shocked to learn that Sylvana actually owned more houseplants than he did, while Sylvana was equally shocked to learn that Ryan had a larger rock collection than she did! We followed up right afterward with a trip to a rock and ice cream shop (yes, such a place exists) and a long walk along the river (IN DECEMBER... brr!). We had a few more dates together, including our first Valentine's date at Gilbert Cellars. And theeeeen the PANDEMIC happened and put things on hold... but it couldn't keep us apart for very long and we made it official in spring 2020. But even though our first date isn't an "anniversary" per say, we say we get a little leeway with Covid and still celebrate our anniversary on the day of that first date in the rosy before-times, as "First Meets Day!" Our silly tradition is to try out a new type or cut of meat, charcuterie, or salami for a cooking date night at home (get it? First "Meats" Day? We know, lame pun). Since then, we spent a couple of years "medium-distancing" between Yakima and Tri-Cities. During the pandemic, many of our virtual dates consisted of Zoom cooking and playing "Dominion Online." As things started to open back up, we started to travel together more, and even took a road trip to Colorado in 2021 to attend the wedding reception for Ryan's brother Drew and his lovely wife Caitlin. In early 2022, Sylvana bought a house in Yakima and moved in just 5 blocks away (total coincidence, we swear!), and we've spent much of the last year working on sprucing the place up and learning what it's like to be a couple in the same city. As 2022 came to a close, we started chatting more seriously about our future together, and Ryan officially proposed at Richmond Beach in her hometown of Shoreline on a beautiful sunny afternoon on January 29th, 2023 (Caitlin, Drew, and Otis the boxer puppy were the real MVP's in helping Ryan pull it off!). We even had Thai for lunch, to bookend it all! As a couple, we enjoy visiting family and friends, playing board games, cooking gourmet meals together, gardening, traveling to go see new places, painting, being outdoorsy on hikes, mushroom hunts, berry picking, and rock hunting excursions, and trying out new restaurants, breweries, and wineries. We are just as happy sipping good wines in Walla Walla as we are knee-deep (or neck-deep in Sylvana's case) in mud and dirt digging for geodes and garnets. Ryan is currently introducing Sylvana to the world of videogames, and Sylvana is trying to get Ryan to dance (it's an uphill battle both ways and a crash course in negotiation tactics). We are very excited to celebrate with everyone this July in one of our favorite places to go in Yakima. We hope you enjoy Gilbert Cellars as much as we do, and have a blast with friends and family, good food, great drinks, and dancing!