On April 5th, 2019, Kelsy hopped on to good ole’ Tinder to see what was the latest Madison had to offer in the dating pool. Just before going to her workout class, she noticed that a cute guy named Ryan (unfortunately in Vikings gear in one picture, but we can still change that) had “super-liked” her. In Tinder language, this means that he ‘swiped right’ on Kelsy from a group of three other local ladies. Something about Kelsy caught his eye (that she was a Packer fan of course). Kelsy ‘swiped right’ back and before Kelsy and Ryan knew it they were deep in conversation. One of the topics was the passion both had for working out. Kelsy mentioned that she had been attending a boxing club called Omni Fight Club. Kind of accidentally, a first date was planned to workout together (bizarre first date, huh?) and then grab breakfast nearby after! On April 13th, 2019, Ryan and Kelsy attended a boxing workout together followed by Ryan watching Kelsy consume not one but TWO breakfast meals. He clearly had a thing for a girl with a hardy appetite! At breakfast, Ryan and Kelsy spent time getting to know one another. They went to a nearby arcade bar right after breakfast. Ryan may or may not have fell in love with Kelsy right then and there as she said, “Hey, you guys got Halo here?” To the bartender. After continuing to get to know one another more and then having the date come to a close, both had ventured downtown to meet friends who were out on a fun, spring Saturday. Just hours after the date, Ryan and Kelsy (semi) accidentally ended up at the same downtown bar with their friends. They spent more time together and then ventured off separately with their friend groups. Just a few hours later, Ryan texted Kelsy where she was and asked her if she wanted to get dinner downtown. Ryan got to see Kelsy wolf down not one, not two, but THREE meals in one day. He then invited her over the next day to watch the Buck’s game at his place. Kelsy knew he was going to be someone she’d fall for when he remembered she was craving cookie dough and added it to their Papa Murphy’s pizza order to make cookies during the Buck’s game. After three separate dates in one weekend, Ryan and Kelsy were extremely excited for the future to come!

Shortly after the first date, it was clear to both Kelsy and Ryan there was something special happening between the both of them. They attended a Hunter Haye’s concert together where they realized they were both more than ready to see what could be there.

After a few dates, it was evident to Ryan and Kelsy they were both head over heels for one another. Ryan and Kelsy made it official in May of 2019 shortly after Kelsy finished her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology at UW-Madison. Ryan was working as an insurance broker at Rural Mutual Insurance in Middleton, WI. While Kelsy was looking for jobs, she moved home to Menomonee Falls, WI. Kelsy and Ryan began commuting back and forth to one another in a “long” distance relationship (1.5 hours isn’t long, but boy it felt long doing it every other weekend!!). Ryan and Kelsy met one another’s friends and families, went to weddings, attended events with friends, went up north to Kelsy’s aunt and uncle’s cabin in Eagle River several times, went to Summerfest, went to other concerts, and enjoyed a summer of nothing but fun and falling for one another more and more everyday. In July, Kelsy accepted a position with New Berlin School District, so Ryan and Kelsy’s 2.5 year distance relationship began. Through those years, Ryan and Kelsy fell in love with one another and spent time doing all the things they loved together.

Fast forward 2 and a half years later, just shortly after Ryan moved to Milwaukee and Kelsy and Ryan finally moved in together in their cozy Brookfield apartment, Ryan secretly organized the proposal of a lifetime after getting the blessing from Kelsy’s family. Ryan secretly reached out to Kelsy’s friends to have them be a part of the proposal as a surprise in Madison the night before the Homecoming football game that Kelsy and Ryan had had planned for some time to attend. Kelsy thought they were going to dinner with her friend Sarah and Sarah’s husband Jacob. Little did she know Ryan was about to ask her to be his partner and best friend for life! Ryan chose to park in the farthest away parking lot from their dinner spot (which Kelsy knew Madison well and knew this parking lot made -500% sense. Kelsy was wearing new knee high leather boots she had to break in while walking what felt like 100 miles to dinner on a cold fall night. On the walk to dinner, Ryan pretended his zipper broke on his jacket (& Kelsy was VERY confused why he needed her help to get it, but boyfriends, right?!). As Kelsy went to help Ryan, Ryan conveniently had fixed the zipper. He started looking around the square and up at the Capitol and said to Kelsy, “Did it ever cross your mind I wanted you here at this moment at this time?” Kelsy thought, “Well that’s a bizarre thing to say” (lol). He started to pull her up to the capitol in which he very slowly got on a knee and a camera started flashing. Kelsy couldn’t believe what was happening, and a “Yes” flew out of her mouth before Ryan even had a chance to ask! Kelsy’s best friends then started popping out of bushes near the square and a champagne bottle popped and tears started flowing. It was the most magical night of Ryan and Kelsy’s life, and the start of a beautiful life together ahead.

Fast forward through wedding planning and growing a home together in Brookfield, Ryan and Kelsy welcomed an additional family member named Otto Felix Huttenlocher. Ryan and Kelsy have been head over paws in love since day one!