When Taylor moved to South Bend she started waitressing at a brewery with Ryan who had also been waiting tables there for a number of years. Small talk quickly turned into long conversations. Before they knew it, it had felt like they had known each other their whole lives.

While vacationing in Tennessee we looked forward to camping and finding scenic places to hike. One of these hikes took place in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Clingmans Dome. The long wait in traffic to the parking lot made Taylor want to turn around and come back another day but Ryan insisted they wait it out. On the breath-taking hike in the clouds they stopped to catch their breath a couple of times until they finally reached the top of the tower to find a 360 view of the Smokies. After taking in the view for a minute, Ryan got down on one knee, popped the question, and surprised Taylor in front of about 20 strangers who happened to be around and who cheered after she said yes.