Thanks to Brandon Jones (husband of Maid of Honor, Abigail Jones) becoming an F-22 pilot and going through the formal training course at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, FL, Kate and Ryan crossed paths one weekend in December of 2021 while Kate was visiting Abby and Brandon in FWB. At the time, Ryan had just arrived at Eglin to start his role as an F-22 instructor pilot and Brandon was one of his students. Following the squadron Christmas party, the students went to a bar with some of the instructor pilots (and by some, we mean just one, Ryan Gourley himself). Brandon and Abby brought Kate along to the bar where the only instructor pilot in the room got her attention for the rest of the evening and what turned out to be the rest of her life!


Kate and Ryan would like to emphasize the serendipitous nature of their joining in Fort Walton Beach. The area is a special place to the Gourley Family as it is where Joanna and Warren Gourley (Ryans paternal grandparents) built their legacy. The US Air Force brought the Gourleys to the area in the 70s and it is where the legacy has strengthened ever since. Ryan spent four years in Alaska for his first F-22 assignment and was supposed to start his second assignment in 2021 at Langley AFB in Virginia. However, fate stepped in and his orders were changed; in Fall of 2021 it was off to Eglin AFB in Fort Walton Beach. Brandon and Abby were living in FWB for a few short months while Brandon went through F-22 training, a time that aligned perfectly with Ryans arrival and ultimately Kates spur-of-the moment visit that one weekend in December of 2021.


Given the strong meaning behind Fort Walton Beach, the Bride and Groom felt it was only right to hold their wedding right down the road from where they met, at the residence of Ryan’s Grandma, Joanna Gourley, who is a long-standing resident and valued member of the town! We are so excited to have all of our loved-ones come to Fort Walton Beach to celebrate!