Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding Day

Wedding

Hofheimer Building Event Venue

Reception

Our Wedding

Ryan was born in Alaska (as he is unlikely to allow you to forget), but was raised in Fredericksburg, VA. His charm got him elected Class President all four years, but his smarts got him scholarships to college. Ryan is in the middle with 2 older siblings and 2 younger. If you think Rachel has middle child syndrome...wait until you meet Ryan! Ryan is a two time graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Mass Communications (2009) and a Master of Public Administration (2015).&nbsp; He works at his alma&nbsp;mater in the Admission Office and enjoys dancing like a total goofball and making people laugh. Ryan loves making a fool of himself in public and saying stupid things to strangers. Ryan’s dog, Mildred Rose Hannifin (Millie), loves Rachel more than him, but because she is so obnoxious, he is okay with it.&nbsp;&nbsp;

About Ryan (as told by Rachel)

Rachel was born and raised in Newport News, VA where her parents and sisters still live. She is one of three, stuck right in the middle! Rachel has an older sister Anna, who was married almost two years ago to Ali McCoy. Her younger brother, William, is a mountain man/laser maker and lives in Blacksburg, VA. Rachel graduated in 2010 from Radford University with a double major in History and Political Science and works as an Associate Director of Admission at the University of Richmond. Rachel loves spending time with her family and enjoys the simple things, like being outside, David Bowie music, and cooking. She loves her dog Oliver Henry Ristow (Ollie) more than Ryan but luckily Ollie loves Ryan more than Rachel and that is why they have continued to be such a strong couple.&nbsp;&nbsp;

About Rachel (as told by Ryan)

August, 18, 2018

The Plan:&nbsp; Believe it or not, Ryan had a plan.&nbsp; Rachel just got back from a week long trip to Maine celebrating her birthday.&nbsp; When she came back from her trip, Ryan’s plan was to be extra needy. He would bother her all week saying how much he wanted to do more things as a couple, like take trips and go hiking.&nbsp; So Rachel broke down after a week of this and agreed to go hiking. Meghan, Ryan’s sister, would watch the dogs so they could have a relaxing trip. When he found the perfect spot on their state park adventure, Ryan would send a text to Meghan who would then ring the doorbell, activating the doorbell camera, and hold a sign in front camera that read “Rachel...Ryan has a question.” Rachel would get the notification on her phone, see Meghan holding the sign in front of their house, then turn to see Ryan on one knee holding her grandmother’s ring.&nbsp; Then, Ryan would take Rachel to a few breweries and then back to the house to a surprise party with loved ones.&nbsp; The day would include all of Rachel’s favorite things...Ryan, hiking, beer, family, and friends who are family.&nbsp;

How it happened: &nbsp;You can count on Rachel to ruin most everything Ryan plans.&nbsp; The proposal was no different.&nbsp; On August 18, 2018, Rachel woke up and said she didn’t feel like hiking.&nbsp; After more discussion, Ryan agreed to buy her a Fitbit Versa if they would go hiking.&nbsp; It was at this point, Ryan suspected Rachel knew what was going on and decided to milk this entire “proposal” thing for everything she could. In reality, Rachel did not have a clue as to what was going on, but couldn’t believe that Ryan was going to break down and get her a new FitBit.&nbsp; After purchasing the FitBit Versa, they went to Powhatan State Park, which is about 45 minutes outside of Richmond.&nbsp; The hike went well, and Ryan was very excited to ask his big question.&nbsp; After a 2.5 mile hike, they were going to jump in the car and catch a different trail near the James River, a perfect place for Ryan to get on one knee.&nbsp;

But here comes Rachel, swooping in to ruin Ryan’s plan once again.&nbsp; While putting bug spray into Ryan’s back-pack, Rachel found the case that Ryan was keeping the ring.&nbsp; Luckily, Ryan had the ring hidden elsewhere, but Rachel was very confused that Ryan would have something like this in his bag.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Rachel: “Where did you get this? Why do you have it?”&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Ryan: “I found it” Rachel: “When?” Ryan: “When I was in Fredericksburg last” Rachel: “Why would you pick up trash and put it in your bag? I can’t with you&hellip;.blah blah blah” (Ryan tuned her out because he started panicking a little).&nbsp;&nbsp;Ryan felt bad for lying to Rachel but also felt insulted that she actually believed he picked up trash and put it in his bag. Unbelievably, Rachel still had no idea what was going on.&nbsp; Ryan knew that it was time to propose.&nbsp; He grabbed his phone once they were back in the car, but realized his phone was dead. Once they got to their next trail location&hellip;.

Ryan: “Rachel, Meghan just texted me but my phone died, can you text her to see if she is okay?” Rachel texting Meghan was the contingency plan.

Meghan rang the doorbell and showed the sign.&nbsp; Rachel looked at Ryan and he delivered the most romantic proposal.&nbsp; It was probably an 8 out of 10 on the romantic proposal scale.&nbsp; Only two ways it would have been more romantic- if it rained (like in the Notebook)&nbsp; and if Rachel hadn’t yelled at Ryan 5 minutes prior.

Rachel, said yes.&nbsp; Then they went to breweries.&nbsp; Rachel continued milking Ryan’s generous spirit at Petco and Ulta, not knowing their home was filled with people they loved. When they arrived home, Rachel was genuinely surprised again. They spent that evening celebrating with the people they loved and who cared enough about them to decorate the house, cook amazing food, mow the grass that Ryan had neglected all week, and wait as Rachel went on an epic shopping spree!

The Proposal

Our Story

Details

Photos

Colin Hannifin

Emily Delahunty

Sarah Nappi

Riccard Gavilan

Taja Cooper

Anna Ristow

Wedding Party

Registry

Q + A

The rooms and rates for the Ristow Hannifin wedding block are guaranteed until July 16. Parking will be $15.00/night. Some features of the hotel include the&nbsp;seasonal Byrd House Bar located on the 16th floor roof-top, complimentary bicycle rentals, in-room refrigerators, the Brookfield Cafe and Lounge with outdoor patio on our first floor, roof-top pool, fitness center, and complimentary wi-fi throughout the building.

The Graduate Hotel

Travel

Things to Do

Rachel + Ryan

Rachel & Ryan

Rachel & Ryan

Travel

The Graduate Hotel