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Our Wedding

To give some insight into how Paul and Nicole came to be, we have to start in August of 2020. Paul’s dad, Jim, dropped him off at the University of Cincinnati for the first time, where he would pursue a music degree for the next 3 years. At that time, Nicole was in her second year at UC, pursuing a degree in Health Science. Shortly after that, Paul met Caden Barr, who very coincidentally was the boyfriend (now husband) of Nicole’s life-long best friend Olivia, and college roommate at the time.&nbsp;Paul and Nicole finally met in May of 2022, when he moved into Caden’s house, a college Young Life duplex. The guys’ house was called “The Bakery”, and the girls’ house was called “The Grove”, where Nicole already lived with Olivia. Paul and Nicole very quickly became good friends, always playing games on the porch in groups together and finding opportunities to talk to each other at church where Paul played and sung on the worship team. As the summer went on, they found themselves staying on the porch to talk for hours after their roommates left. In July, Paul asked Nicole if she would like to go on a date, to which she replied, “finally!” Their first 2 dates were good but awkward. There was definitely something missing. Not wanting to lead Paul on, Nicole politely “friend-zoned” Paul before their third date. They spent the next several months avoiding each other in public for fear of awkwardness. All the while, Nicole wondered, “what could have been?” This began what they affectionately call “The Schism.” Dun, Dun, Dunnnnnnnn……… Fiiiiiiiiinallllllllly, 7 months later, after much prayer and a Young Life retreat (iykyk), Nicole asked Paul to talk again, where she confessed that she still wasn’t content with how things went down in August. Paul agreed that he always wondered “what could have been,” given their amazing friendship the summer before. They somehow seemed to be on the same page after all that time. They went on their first date (part 2) on Good Friday and spent the next 3 weeks getting to know each other again after spending several months apart, even though they had been living in the same building the entire time. The irony is painful, still to this day. Paul was eager to jump the gun and ask Nicole to be his girlfriend (twice), to which Nicole replied, “if we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do it right this time”. After all, they practically hadn’t spoken in 7 months. They started officially dating on April 26th, 2023 which happened to be Paul’s birthday. Exactly 1 month into dating, Paul told Nicole she was “the one”, which seemed extremely overzealous at the time to her.&nbsp;For the next 3.5 months, they were inseparable, up until the day Nicole moved to Columbus to start PA school. That fall was spent with Paul working at The Oaks Church and doing Seminary classes online while Nicole attended class during the week. On the weekends, Nicole would come down to Cincinnati after they spent the whole week talking to each other on their nightly FaceTime calls. In October, Paul brought Nicole down to Catawba, South Carolina to meet Paul’s family, which seemed like the first time they realized “we’re actually going to get married one day!” A few months later, January 2024, Paul moved from Cincinnati to Louisville, furthering the distance from Nicole to almost 3.5 hours. *Yuck* They saw each other every 2 weekends that spring, which never felt like enough. They were both in what they refer to as, “The Trenches.” Continuing into the summer and fall, they got more and more excited as the possibility of engagement grew closer and closer as they knew they couldn’t get married until Nicole was done with school in Columbus.&nbsp;On December 7th, 2024, the day after Nicole finished the first portion of PA school, Paul proposed to her at Cox Arboretum in Dayton, OH, where they had gone on many walks and picnics before. Afterward, there was a party with their friends at what better place than Olivia’s childhood home of course. In January 2025, Nicole started clinical rotations as Paul continued his Seminary degree in Louisville. Wedding planning began, with Nicole’s mom Robin being the key contributor to their successful party planning. Long distance got harder and harder as time went on, but the excitement of finally getting to be together on March 14th, 2026 made counting the days easier, and the time spent together sweeter.&nbsp; In conclusion, to get out of the friend-zone, Paul recommends playing guitar and singing on the worship team until you "wear her down."

The Story of Paul and Nicole: A How-To Guide On Getting Out of The Friend-zone 

Our Story

Photos

Bridesmaids

My younger sister who looks older than me. Best friend since day 1! Will spike a volleyball in your face. 

Rachael Cordonnier 

My best friend since the first day of kindergarten in 2006, otherwise referred to by me as "House". 

Olivia Barr

My ACL sister since high school who I call "Cass". 

Cassidy Cope

College roommate! UC young life teammates, and church members together. 

Adilyn Reichwein

Paul's youngest sister! Ask her about her science experiments :)

Betsy Ryerson

College roommate and fellow Physician Assistant. 

Emma Boyd

Ginny Lupka

Sorority sister and fellow church member. My "Podcast Friend". (Podcast coming 2026). 

Haley Rich

UC college young life teammate and fellow church member. Will dunk on you. 

Hannah Adkins Lamb 

"Jess" to those who love her. My sister in law (my brother Nathan's wife) as of September 2024!

Jessica Cordonnier

College roommate (actually shared a room together), European travel buddy, fellow graduate of Bellbrook High School. 

Laura McGinnis

Could NOT have gotten through PA school without Mya sitting next to me every day. 

Mya Linder

Homie since 4th grade when she wrote all my papers for me after I broke my hand. 

Sara Labensky

Sorority sister, long distance bestie, and the other "Podcast Friend". 

Subrina Hejduk

College roommate, fellow church member, and my hosts when I visit Paul in Louisville. 

Sydni Ward

Groomsmen

Best friend and housemate from college & fellow worship team member, will fix any medical issues the guys have day-of as the resident Physicians Assistant among the men.

Caden Barr

Paul's oldest and tallest brother, will always beat you at Smash Bros. 

Jesse Ryerson

Paul's older but smaller brother, owner of Kraken Plumbing™. MTTG master. 

Isaac Ryerson

Paul's younger but taller brother, drummer/ bassist for his band "Quiet Exit", will fix any cars that break down on the day of the wedding. 

Mack Ryerson

Nicole's older brother, master tailgater, has 5 stars on Airbnb. 

Nathan Cordonnier

College housemate and Rocket League champion. 

Adam Abdul-Aziz

College housemate, might run a quick Triathlon on the day of the wedding. 

Bradley McManus

Fellow church member, photographer extraordinaire. 

Caleb Blair

Fellow church member and seminarian. May also run a Triathlon with Bradley on the day of the wedding. 

Drew Ward

Fellow church member, counselor, and board game inventor/enthusiast. 

Ed Zajac

College housemate, guaranteed to know "the tea" and the location of the nearest taco truck. 

Parker Phillips

College housemate, fellow seminarian, computer wiz, puts the "Tri" in the Triathlon that may be ran the morning of the wedding with Bradley and Drew. 

Tyler Swick

Wedding Party

Q + A

Select March 12th/13th/14th in Monroe, OH with group code CWB. This link and group rate expires on February 10th!

Tru by Hilton Monroe OH

Click on the website link. Enter in the dates for the Cordonnier/Ryerson wedding block (March 12th, 13th, and 14th) in order to view the discounted group rate. This link and group rate expires on February 14th!

Nicole & Paul

Nicole & Paul

N&P

Wedding Day