June 5, 2014: 17-year-old Ellie sees 17-year-old Ryan across the room at a friend’s house. She thinks, “Oh, he’s cute!” and turns to her friends, saying she’ll “be right back.” She walks up to Ryan, who is conveniently talking to someone she knows - the perfect chance for an intro. If you knew Ellie in high school, you’d know this was a form of fate - Ellie walking up to a cute boy without fear? Divine intervention is the only explanation. Ryan and Ellie get introduced and spend the rest of the night talking by themselves. They exchange phone numbers. Ellie’s friend even snaps a picture of them. Ryan spends the next few months trying to come up with reasons to see each other again.

Ryan and Ellie spend the rest of the summer talking, but don’t see much of each other.

Fall 2014: Ryan texts Ellie to ask her to be his date to the Rockhurst High School homecoming dance. Ellie says yes! They have their first kiss the night of the dance.

They continue to hang out every weekend, finding any excuse to see each other. By November 2014, they are officially dating. Senior year is filled with ice cream dates, doing homework at Panera, school dances, and soaking up every moment before they both head to college.

August 2015: Ryan and Ellie are off to college! Ryan to KU and Ellie to MU - a rivalry. They mutually decide to go their separate ways. Tears are shed.

October 2015: Ryan visits Ellie “as a friend” during his fall break. They go to brunch at Broadway Diner. Ryan can’t eat because he’s so nervous. Ellie eats her nerves away and finishes both of their meals. After spending the day together, Ryan asks Ellie to get back together. She says yes!

2015 - 2019: Ryan and Ellie spend the rest of college getting very familiar with the drive from Columbia, Missouri to Lawrence, Kansas. The years are filled with date parties, nights at The Hawk in Lawrence and Willie’s in Columbia, and frequent phone calls to make sure they had a plan for the next visit.

2019: Ryan and Ellie graduate college and both move back to Kansas City - No more long distance! Some of their favorite memories include:

Trip to Breckenridge, Colorado

Trips to Nashville, Tennessee

Eric Church, Kip Moore, Luke Combs, and Jordan Davis concerts

KU bowl game in Memphis, Tennessee

Ryan cheering Ellie on at road races

Trips to the farm

3 Chiefs Super Bowls

2023: Ryan buys a diamond ring! He spends months coordinating the perfect plan to ask Ellie to marry him. He takes Ellie’s dad to lunch and asks him for his blessing. Spoiler alert - Rick is thrilled!

Ryan gets all of his and Ellie’s closest friends in on the secret plan. The week of the proposal, he somehow convinces Ellie that it is her idea to go downtown with their friends Maggie and Zack. Ryan and Zack say they want to see the “leftover NFL Draft decor” from the weekend before. Ellie is 99% sure that stuff is gone, but agrees - They’re the football experts!

The day of the engagement, Ellie gets suspicious when Ryan makes a comment about what he’s wearing that day - The man never talks about his outfits. But when Ellie talks to Maggie, she is convinced today isn’t the day - Maggie is acting way too normal. Ryan does his best to act normal while dealing with the nerves.

Ryan and Ellie get to the Liberty Memorial to “see the draft signs.” Before Ellie knows it, she turns around to see Ryan down on one knee, asking her to marry him. They laugh, they cry, and she says yes! Actually, she says, “Yes, duh!”