While living in Baltimore during her time at Loyola, Melissa and her roommates decided to join a kickball league in an attempt to meet new people. As fate would have it, they were placed on the same team as Ryan and a few of his friends. Little did Melissa know, her future brother and sister-in-law were also on that team. Following each kickball game, the team would participate in a few drinking games at one of the local bars. After a couple of weeks, the two started to admire one another’s competitive sides and quickly took a liking to each other. Melissa and Ryan went on their first date at Alexander’s Tavern and then caught half of the movie “Dunkirk” at a nearby theater. It was an interesting first date as the couple unexpectedly ate in an empty restaurant and watched a movie that had little dialogue, causing them to leave halfway through. The funny thing was, even though the night didn’t go as planned, none of that mattered. The company and conversations made everything worth it. The two became inseparable as they went on runs through the city together, grabbed ice cream at B’more Licks, and introduced each other to their friends. About two months into dating, Ryan was baited into asking Melissa a very important question, “will you be my girlfriend?” Luckily for him, the answer was an emphatic "YES" (the first important Yes of their adventure together). About 7 months into their flourishing relationship, they were met with the inevitable reality of Melissa’s graduation, and it was time to see what the next chapter of their lives would look like. Ryan ended up asking Melissa to move in with him and to his delight she said “YES” (the second important Yes of this journey). Throughout the next few years, the two would move out of the city and spend a brief time in Virginia before they settled in an apartment of their own in Gaithersburg, Maryland. About a year and a half after moving into their first apartment Ryan decided he had one more very important question to ask. With Melissa leaving New York behind to pursue a relationship with Ryan, it was important to him that he brought a little bit of New York to her for this special occasion. On September 10, 2022, with some help from Melissa’s best friends, Ryan got down on one knee and asked Melissa one more very important question, “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” With a million emotions, he received the best “YES” of his entire life!