Ryan was working in Huntsville, AL and Kallie was going to grad school in Nashville, TN. We were introduced by mutual friends in Nashville, who were getting married at the time. We briefly met while Ryan was in Nashville on wedding related business. The next time we saw each other was the night of the wedding in Chattanooga, TN. We spent the night talking and dancing and hit it off pretty well. The next day after brunch with the wedding party, we wound down from the festivities at the aquarium, where we spent hours watching the fish and talking. Unfortunately, Ryan had just announced his decision to move to the DC area. We spent much of the next couple months going back and forth between Huntsville and Nashville and said goodbye as Ryan left for DC. Two months later, we met up in Philadelphia when Kallie was there for a conference. After running around Philadelphia, we decided we could make the long distance relationship work.

We spent the next three years traveling back and forth between DC and Nashville. Occasionally we used this as an excuse to travel to other cities we had never been and met up in places like St. Louis, Austin, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Raleigh and Louisville. It was a long three years, but we were able to make the best of it. Finally, Kallie graduated from grad school in 2015 and moved to DC and have been together ever since.

After spending Christmas in Florida, we stopped in Charleston, SC and spent the weekend with friends on the way home to DC. Saturday morning the two of us went downtown for brunch and walked around the shops downtown. Then we drove down to the angel oak tree, a massive and beautiful oak tree believed to be 500+ years old. As we stood there admiring the tree, Ryan stated that today might be my lucky day. Having just bought Powerball tickets on the way to the park, I just assumed he was referring to winning the lottery until he pulled out the ring and asked if I would marry him. I was completely surprised but, of course, said yes! We went to dinner on the harbor that night to celebrate. The next morning we went for breakfast and began sharing the news with friends and family. We have been excitedly awaiting this day every since!