On a hot, muggy, Thursday in June 2018, Lexie and Ryan were invited to Castaways for drinks and dinner with friends. Despite being there with other people (oops,) the two meshed well and became fast friends.

Over the course of a few years, Lexie and Ryan would share many laughs, a few tears, hours of music with one another, and quite a few game nights with friends before realizing that what they had was not just a friendship, but something that they could grow into. They took a chance on it, and have been inseparable since.

While on a riverboat tour on their last night in New Orleans, Ryan began to plan how he wanted to ask Lexie to spend forever with him. With the jazz music playing and the sounds of the Mississippi River rushing past, it was a beautiful night and there was plenty of time to reminisce. Ryan knew in that moment that he was ready to marry the woman of his dreams. He planned out where and when he wanted to ask her, and kept it a secret until 4 weeks from popping the question. Ryan reached out to Lexie's mother to seek help in picking out the perfect ring with his own mom. The first ring they looked at ended up being the last ring that was chosen. It was meant to be.

On June 3rd, joined by their friends, Nolan and Kylie, they set out for breakfast at one of their favorite spots in Frankenmuth. Ryan sweetly declared that he wanted to take a slight detour, and turned off of the main street onto a side road. Lexie, who worked in Frankenmuth for 6 years, was dumbfounded and asked Ryan if he knew where he was going because there was no other way to get to the restaurant. Ryan reassured Lexie that he did, in fact, know how to get to the restaurant, he just wanted to go to the park that they had taken pictures in for Nolan and Kylie's wedding the year prior and recreate one of them.

Lexie, ever so skeptical and very hangry, replied with a confused "okay...?" and went along with it. When they parked, Lexie admired the flowers in the rose garden with Kylie, who was preparing to take the photo for them. While she snapped photos, Ryan took the chance to ask Lexie the big question.

Obviously, she said yes.

and then she immediately apologized for being a hangry brat.

We thank you, dear loved one, for being along with us while we write the rest of our love story, and we can't wait to see where our journeys take us.