A true 21st century love story, our favorite couple met on Hinge. From the moment Ryan saw a video of Danae serenading Brinkley to the song "Put Your Records On" he was smitten. Ryan sent Danae his "rose"; a special token only given to Hinge users once per week to send to someone they really want to get the attention of. Danae was honored and matched with Ryan. The two started a conversation that led to their first date about a week later. So what did they do? Ryan, being the perfect gentleman he is, drove all the way down to Orange County to go to Danae's favorite beach. Newport, of course! They laid on the sand and talked for hours. Like, literally five hours. In fact, they had such a good time that they scheduled their second date for the very next day! The way to Danae's heart is definitely through spontaneity and breakfast burritos, so Danae made the trek out to Torrance the next morning for a breakfast date. Usually meeting the parents is something you save for AFTER you're dating, but Danae met Rick and Kari that same day, no pressure!
Thankfully, it all worked out as just a few weeks later, Ryan officially asked Danae to be his girlfriend on July 3rd, 2021. The pair tackled a long distance relationship like champions when Danae moved to Davis for school in late August, less than two months into dating. Two and a half years, one summer abroad, and many many plane tickets later (seriously, Southwest should really be sponsoring this wedding) Danae finally moved home! After conquering long distance, Ryan and Danae were thrilled to finally be in close proximity again. A few months after Danae got home, Ryan began custom designing Danae's engagement ring and hatched his plan to propose. Ryan wanted to wait to pop the question until after Danae's graduation party, thoughtfully giving her the spotlight to celebrate her huge accomplishment. He couldn't wait long though, as his plan was to propose the day after on their belated anniversary trip to San Luis Obispo.
There was a wrench thrown in his plans though, when Danae started to run a fever on their drive up. His perfectly curated sunset beach proposal was not going to work out with Danae's 102º fever. Being the caring man he is, Ryan did everything he could to take care of her and help her feel better. He even used Grandma Faye's fever reducing trick of a cold wet washcloth to the face and arms every ten minutes. After making it through the first night of their trip, Danae woke up feeling weak, but much better. Ryan knew a hike down to the beach wasn't the best idea so he called an audible. After Danae took a shower to help her feel alive again, she joined Ryan on the patio of their AirBnB which looked over a small private canyon. Danae had been profusely apologizing the night before for ruining their vacation, Ryan had been reassuring her that as long as he got to dance with her during their trip, he would be happy. Right there, on the patio, with Danae in sweatpants, Ryan asked her to dance. He played "Sunday Kind of Love", a song that, six months before, the pair danced to and Ryan got down on one knee for the first time and promised that he was going to marry Danae. They slow danced together, taking in the beauty of the nature around them. About halfway through, Ryan asked Danae if she remembered what happened the last time they danced to that song, she responded "of course, you practically proposed". In an instant, Ryan was down on one knee again, this time with a ring box in his hand, and he officially asked Danae to marry him. Danae answered "yes" more times than anyone can count and the two celebrated their milestone for the rest of their trip. Since Danae was still sick, they ditched Ryan's plans for a fancy dinner out and opted for a frozen pizza, gelato, and a movie night in watching "The Wedding Planner". Both Ryan and Danae agree that their day could not have been more perfect and meaningful. Ryan & Danae cannot wait to celebrate their love with you!