My initial thought of Ryan was that he was an awful texter - hours and days in between texts. The type of person that replied to your texts with reactions instead of a written response. I remember going back home to Georgia and telling my friends over brunch that I started chatting with someone but couldn't get a read on him. After a little over a month of talking, we finally went on our first date. I remember second-guessing the date that morning, wondering if I should cancel. He was 30 minutes late. We met up at Ghirardelli Square and walked down to Fisherman’s Wharf with Auggie, saw the sea lions sunbathing, and stopped by for barbecue. I’m convinced he only started dating me for Auggie. I don’t remember our first date being anything to write home about. We walked, we ate, and we got to know each other over lunch on a Sunday afternoon at the biggest San Francisco tourist trap. I was allowed to be a tourist. I’d only been in California for half year. We didn’t see each other again until about two weeks later. Ryan invited me to a wine bar with his friends. He was in his element, surrounded by friends yet still attentive to me - a gentleman. I remember he told me he wanted three kids and I argued I wanted four. He kissed me that night and it was this date that made me glad I didn’t cancel our first date. The thing with Ryan is that he can make you feel like you belong in any setting. Even in a room full of strangers you’ve never met. You could bring him anywhere and he’d fit right in. Conversations never skipped a beat. Any activity with him was fun. Things were always easy and effortless. Our third date was a Warriors game. We watched the Warriors lose against Miami and ate mediocre fried chicken sandwiches because Ryan knew I loved fried chicken. Ryan bought me a foam finger. The company was better than the food. Our fourth date was Valentine’s day. After the Warriors game, he asked me to hang out again Friday. I didn’t even realize it was Valentine’s day when I agreed. The entire week leading up to Friday I was freaking out. Do I dress up? Does he know? Do I tell him it’s Valentine’s day in case he wants to cancel? Ryan made reservations at Quattro in the Four Seasons. I decided on semi-formal - top, skirt, and a leather jacket to make it more casual, just in case. He showed up with a bouquet of flowers. He knew it was Valentine's day. Shortly after, COVID happened and the world shut down. We spent our days doing puzzles, learning how to make cocktails, enjoying the California beaches with Auggie, and sneaking away on weekend trips whenever we got the chance. Ryan now has better taste and I’ve gotten better at communicating. I cook and he cleans (most of the time). He teaches me how to play poker and I beat him (sometimes). Countless adventures and two years later, here we are, our biggest adventure together yet.

If you know me, you know I’m extremely picky when it comes to dating. When I first saw Alissa’s Hinge profile, my immediate thoughts - she’s gorgeous and I always knew I was destined to be a dog dad. More importantly, she stood out. I remember she wrote some things in her profile that made me laugh and got my attention - so she definitely was going to be popular on that dating app. So I wanted to be thoughtful. Intentional. Thoughtfully and intentionally annoying when texting her because I knew it would stand out... So, when we first matched, I took it slow and didn’t reach out right away. And when I did reach out, it was short one or two-word texts. Oooooh, did it piss her off (spoiler - it worked. But we’ll get to that part later). Date 1 - After about a month of short back and forth texting and another month being in different states - we finally made a plan to meet. Alissa’s from Atlanta and never really seen San Francisco before so I figured you can’t go wrong with Ghirardelli square and fisherman’s wharf. Classic tourist trap. When the day actually came to meet, a lot of craziness happened. It was the day Kobe died, and I’m a big basketball guy - so I was in shock. Worse, I was not focused and ran 30 minutes late. Here was this beautiful girl, who drove an hour to meet me… and I was late. Worst first impression ever, I know - but I knew I’d win her over once we were in person. And if not her, definitely her dog, Auggie. We met, walked around and chatted, ate some forgettable BBQ, saw the sea lions on the pier, and had a good time. I left that date on a positive, excited to see her on the second one. More witty back and forth, and I knew I wanted to see her again. Time to see if this is real. One of the biggest things I look for and care deeply about if is she can get along with my friends. It shows compatibility and it means a lot if my friends like the person I’m with, so I invited her to a 2nd date which was a birthday party for a friend's friend. Honestly didn’t think she’d say yes - she did. Takes a lot to meet a bunch of people you don’t know, and even more to do it alone with someone you just met. It’s impressive, it’s confident, and I respected the shit out of it. Date 2 - We all met at a wine bar, hopped around to different bars and she fit right in - as if we’d all known each other for years. They all loved her, my close friends really loved getting to know her, and something changed. It started to become real. I knew it was something special. Date 3 - Tables turned, Alissa invited me to a Warriors game, and already off the bat, I’m a kid in a candy shop. The new arena, new team, and the hottest girl in the game wearing a Warriors hat - sign me up. Long story short - we had an incredible time and honestly, I knew we would have this much fun doing anything, anywhere. I don’t know about her, but I knew she was the ride or die. The one. And we haven’t looked back since. Excited for many, many, many more dates, memories, adventures, and travels, and to share that excitement with Auggie. Can't wait to celebrate with all of you reading this on our wedding day too (aka Auggies' birthday).