How We Met
Ryan and I couldn’t have met in a more coincidental situation. I’m from Naples, Florida and Ryan is from BC, Canada. Ryan’s work requires him to travel and in June of 2012 his job sent him to Florida. At the time, I was working at an Ale house as a waitress. Ryan was staying at the hotel right next to the Ale house. On the first night he came to Florida he came into my work to have dinner with his coworkers and I happened to be his waitress. I was instantly attracted to him and I told all my coworkers about the cute guy sitting at my table. I had butterflies in my stomach and I felt myself getting nervous every time I had to go to his table. I didn’t have the courage to give him my phone number or even talk to him! To my surprise, the hostess gave him my phone number as he was leaving! We got to know each other and spent everyday together. We had everything in common and I’ve never felt a connection like we had with anyone else. That September Ryan had to leave to go back to Canada. I didn’t know if I would ever see him again and I was heartbroken. For two years we kept in touch, talking almost everyday. And then in fall of 2014 while Ryan was in California, I was in Arizona. We decided to meet up again for the first time in two years. I was even more nervous than when I first met him in Florida. But nothing changed and it felt as though we picked right back up from where we left off two years prior. We decided to try a long distance relationship and fly back and forth across the country as often as we could. We live on opposite sides of the continent so it’s extremely difficult. We were meant for each other so I would rather have a long distance relationship than not have each other at all.
how they asked
In December of 2015, Ryan and I decided to go to Maryland to spend the holidays with my family. Ryan would fly to Florida first and then a few days later we would fly to Maryland together. After hanging out for a couple days and spending time together, Ryan told me he had something planned for us. We drove to Sanibel Island where he had booked a romantic, beachfront hotel. When we first met in 2012, we spent a lot of time in this area so I didn’t think it was unusual for him to bring me here. Captiva and Sanibel are two beautiful spots in Southwest Florida with clear water and clean beaches. He asked me if I wanted to go sit on the beach and have a glass of wine, which we did whenever we were in Florida together. We walked on the beach for a few minutes and then set up a blanket. I saw a photographer taking pictures of the water and the beach but didn’t think anything of it. We then sat down and he handed me a wine glass out of the beach bag. I noticed that our initials were engraved on the wine glasses. He then took my hand and helped me to my feet. I immediately knew what was going on and I was in complete shock. Ryan got down on one knee, told me he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and asked me to marry him. Tears started rushing down my face and I couldn’t stop shaking. It was the happiest day of my life and I can’t wait until the day that distance is no longer a problem. I always think about how we met and how incredibly lucky I was to cross paths with him.
