We're getting married!

We met for the first time on August 19, 2019 at the University of Utah. Ryann was a senior who always sat in the front of the class and raised her hand after every question. She was inquisitive, focused, and was never afraid to keep the faculty honest. She expected excellence, had goals, was driven to succeed, and was always put together. After five and a half years she is still as amazing as she was when we met and even more beautiful. Cole could not have been more different. Usually sat towards the back of the class after arriving five minutes late due to rolling down a hill while rollerblading to class, he was adventurous but wore shorts from the And1 mixtape, he was driven but largely around obscure action sports, and smart but stubborn as a rock. On our first day of class we sat together and it would be telling for the next four years. Cole was woefully unprepared and Ryann had already reviewed an entire semester’s worth of material. When the teacher would call on Cole, Ryann would whisper the answer to the question under her breath and Cole would get every question correct. However, whenever the teach would call on Ryann, her answers were always close, but never quite right. As you can imagine if you know Ryann, it drove her BANANAS. But not the bad kind of crazy, we were best friends from the day we met. Ryann was focused but wanted someone spontaneous and open to trying new things, there was nothing Cole wouldn’t do or try, but needed someone focused. We spent the next six months watching Cole trying to impress Ryann, sometimes successfully. Our first date was to Pretty Bird hot chicken which was light on conversation and heavy on napkins. Apparently, Cole’s decision to order the extra hot chicken resulted in more runny noses, water cups, and coughing than get-to-know-you questions. After a series of less-than-ideal dates, we decided to go on our first trip together, camping in Moab, UT. True to form, the activity of choice wasn’t a cute fire with smores and a sunset, but instead we went off-roading at Hell’s Gate in a rental UTV. Within one hundred yards of the parking lot, the laughing had turned into tears and terror as we spent the rest of the afternoon crawling around red rocks cliffs. By the end of the day the reaction was half hugs and half gut punches, but hey, that’s the story of our relationship. What Ryann had probably wished to be cute camping trips, nights spent drinking wine and eating cheese painting together, or fun dinners, turned out to be early mornings hydro foiling in sub-freezing temperatures, days spent carrying Cliff bars and Gatorades on a e-bike like a human pack mule while Cole rollerbladed behind her, and camping in the back of an old beat up suburban in a Walmart parking lots. It has been an unconventional few years, but we wouldn’t trade them for the world. Over Christmas in Houston in 2024, the time had finally come (although Ryann would have said that time was years past due) where Cole had worked out a plan to propose. However, shortly after arriving in TX, Cole came down with the flu and quickly proceeded to get everyone in the family deathly ill. Not what you would call romantic. The backup proposal took place in New Zealand during a trip with the Macadaegs. Cole arranged a helicopter flight to the breathtaking Earnslaw Burn glacier. Despite Ryann battling a fever and less-than-ideal conditions, the proposal went ahead. While Cole stumbled over his words—a rarity—it perfectly reflected the unconventional nature of our relationship. Nothing about our journey has been traditional, but it has been uniquely ours. We’re thrilled to spend the rest of our lives together and are so grateful to celebrate with all of you on August 9th. Thank you for your love, friendship, and support over the years. We can’t wait to see you in Utah! Sincerely, Cole and Ryann