So thankful to have good friends because this love story starts with just that.

December 14, 2016, my friend, Brian Minix, asked if he could give this nice Jewish man my phone number. I was skeptical because Brian tried setting me up once before and it was an epic failure, to say the least. But, I was willing to give him a chance to redeem himself. Boy am I happy I did!

Ryan and I met on December 18, 2016.

Our first date started at a local bar, Ralstons, to watch the Patriots vs. Broncos game (little did he know this would become a requirement in our relationship). We enjoyed a few beverages then continued on to dinner at a new restaurant off Mass Ave in Indy called Livery (our favorite restaurant to date!). The evening was filled with easy conversation and laughter. I felt like I had known him forever.

As the evening progressed, he offered to make me dinner at his place the following Wednesday. I said yes, of course. Wednesday was perfect, as expected, and the dating began.

After the New Year, Ryan told me that he got a job offer to be the Director of Football for the University of Connecticut. I was so beyond happy and excited for him but didn’t know what that meant for us. He could tell I was concerned but didn’t let that linger because he grabbed my hand, looked me square in the eyes and said “We’re going to make this work!”

And so the long distance relationship began.

There were our daily phone conversations. Ryan flew to Indy. I got acquainted with Connecticut. And through it all, our relationship continued to grow stronger.

Through the many visits to see one another, Ryan booked us a trip to Aruba for July! The week before we left, Ryan was going to come to Indy so we could fly out together.

Little did I know he had a HUGE surprise for me...

My friend Melissa, Brian’s wife, asked me to attend a work event with her on June 26th. I accepted as Ryan wasn’t supposed to arrive until the next day. I got home from work and got ready, Melissa arrived at my place, and before we headed out, the door bell rang. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting anyone so I ran downtime stairs and opened the door only to find Ryan down on one knee asking me to marry him! I turned to look at Melissa to see if she saw who was at the door and she was recording the whole thing! Everyone set me up! It was perfect though. Once I stopped crying and shaking with excitement, I ecstatically said yes!

I couldn’t be happier to share a life with this man and become a Steinberg!

Can’t wait for May 2018 to make this official!