Ryan: Hannah and I had a class together during our freshman year of high school but we did not officially meet until our junior year. At the beginning of that year, my friend Michael invited me to come to his youth group's fall retreat. On the way there, I couldn't help but notice a girl named Hannah sitting at the front of the bus. Little did I know, she would be my future wife.

Hannah: As soon as Michael brought Ryan to youth group (before fall retreat), I was interested in getting to know him. The fact that he played football for our high school may or may not have had a part in that. At fall retreat, Ryan accepted Jesus and then started coming to youth group and church regularly. I enjoyed talking to him and we quickly became friends.

Ryan: Hannah and I had study hall at the same time that year, so we "did homework" together almost every day. I remember each day I looked forward to "doing homework" with her and I soon realized that I liked her as more than just a friend. On Valentine's day, I made her a card and confessed my feelings. A few weeks later I asked her to prom.

Hannah: I was ecstatic when Ryan asked me to prom (the York peppermint patties helped too). We had a blast riding the rides at MOA together at prom and made lots of memories. We ended up taking several college classes together. We also went to homecoming together in the fall. Eventually, on February 2nd, 2020 we went on our first official date.

Ryan: We established a committed dating relationship on February 6th, 2020. We enjoyed a month of going on fun dates before the pandemic began. Hannah left for a week at the beginning of March to go on a spring break trip to Paris, but because of covid we did not end up seeing each other for over two months. It was devastating.

Hannah: During lockdown, we spent many hours on video calls asking each other questions, so we got to know each other very well. Eventually, we were able to see each other again but we had to social distance. We spent the summer doing as many fun things as we could before we both moved down to Winona for school. We encouraged each other throughout our first year of college and grew deeper in our relationship as well.

Ryan: We had many conversations about the future while taking walks around Lake Winona. I did not see any red flags, so soon after I was considering marriage.

Hannah: Fast forward to the start of our second year of college. The two of us were having many conversations about getting married. I decided that I was ready to commit to a future with Ryan. Later that fall, the two of us went ring shopping together.

Ryan: I figured out the ideal engagement ring after gathering ring inspiration from Hannah's extensive Pinterest board and the styles she liked at the store. To make sure that the engagement ring was available, I purchased it in advance. A few months later, I talked to Hannah's father about the potential marriage and he was supportive.

Hannah: By the middle of the spring semester I was just waiting for Ryan to propose. I did not think he had talked to my dad yet, but I knew he had suspiciously gone home to "fix his fridge" a couple of months earlier (he actually did fix the fridge, but he also met up with my dad for breakfast).

Ryan: When I was planning the engagement, I knew that I wanted Hannah to be able to see her college friends and her family not long after getting engaged. So I thought it would make sense to propose right before we went home for spring break.

Hannah: One of my friends had asked me to go for a walk on the day before spring break. Suspiciously she mentioned that I should dress nice and my roommate also told me to do my hair. We started our walk around Lake Winona and eventually, we walked by the dock sticking out into the lake. I looked out and saw Ryan standing on the dock with flowers. I immediately knew what was happening and walked very quickly out to where Ryan was waiting.

Ryan: Once Hannah reached me on the dock, I told her how much I loved her and that I was very excited to marry her. I got on one knee and asked her to marry me.

Hannah: After Ryan asked me to marry him, I enthusiastically said yes! He had chosen the ring of my dreams and I could not believe that we were finally engaged.

Registry

Thank you so much for your generosity as we begin our lives together! We are so thankful!