We met in March 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. At that time, Ryan was working as an archaeologist for the Jacksonville District of the Army Corps and Dan was teaching 6th grade science at a local middle school. Shortly after we met, everything in Jacksonville started shutting down. As we both navigated figuring out life in a global pandemic, we started spending a lot of time together, getting to know each other better and deepening our friendship.

On October 3, we went on our official first date - hiking at a local nature preserve. Our relationship continued to grow stronger, and we quickly saw that this was a very serious relationship we both wanted to commit to.

Looking for a change, Ryan began applying to jobs around the country that fall, and, in November, was offered a job with the New York District of the Army Corps and asked Dan if he would be interested in diving into a new adventure in New York. Dan (obviously) agreed and in March 2021, we flew to the city and toured around 60 different apartments across Manhattan in the span of 3 days. With the help of Dan’s friend, Mikeala, we were able to find the perfect apartment.

In fall of 2022, Ryan began plotting the perfect proposal. For over a year, Ryan and a group of our friends worked out the details, lying to Dan the whole time. On October 21, 2023, Ryan proposed (kneeling in the mud) in front of a group of close friends. Not wanting Ryan to feel left out (and because he forgot to actually say yes when Ryan asked, “Will you marry me?”), Dan planned his own proposal. While on a trip down to New Orleans in March 2024, Dan surprised Ryan in Armstrong Park with a ring of his own.

We’re so lucky that we’ve found in each other a friend and partner - someone we can trust wholeheartedly, someone we can completely be ourselves around, someone that balances the other out in all the right ways.

We’re also so grateful to each one of you for being on this journey with us; for the guidance, acceptance, and love. We absolutely cannot wait for you all to help us celebrate this next step in our lives this April!