Ryan and I first met over SIX (!!) years ago as juniors in college during a small party our mutual friends were having to kick off the start of the new school year. To give a little backstory, Ryan and I went to different colleges, but I used to go down to his college all the time to visit a couple of my friends from back home!

Now, I have to admit that I knew who Ryan was about a year before we officially met (I promise I’m not creepy!). Since we had mutual friends, pictures of him would pop up on Facebook from time to time and I always thought he was adorable. So, imagine my surprise when he walked in the door that September night! I couldn’t tell you what we talked about, but I know that we sat next to each other until the early hours of the morning. He was so sweet and made me laugh (real laughs, too, not just nervous ones!) and I knew that I wanted to know more about him. We swapped numbers that night and decided we’d get breakfast sometime soon.

Flash forward to early October when we all met up at the same dorm room once again, but this time to watch That 70’s Show. Before Ryan left, he asked if I wanted to get breakfast the following morning. I was going to be spending the night with friends and I realized that I didn’t bring a change of clothes with me for the next day. I was planning on driving back home the next morning in my pajamas — which consisted of leggings and a sweatshirt. As much as that realization made me cringe, I said yes anyway. He picked me up and the two of us head over to iHop and ordered two enormous breakfasts. I remember eating about two bites, and he never once questioned my “outfit.” 🙂

After a few more dates, Ryan and I become officially official on a freezing night in the beginning of November while standing in my driveway around 3am. And it didn’t take me too long after that night to realize that there’s no one else I’d rather do life with!

Thank you, Jen Larsen for the amazing photos!