It's another edition of Wedding Wednesday and this week I wanted to share some pictures and anecdotes from the time Ryan and I spent dating! I have to say that putting together this post, I was reminded of the absolutely wonderful times we had together when we were dating - we truly made some wonderful memories together to start out relationship and I am so glad we have these memories to look back on together as we go forward!
Ryan and I started our relationship knowing it would be "long distance". Ryan lived in Lancaster, PA and I was living in Northern Virginia and of course, at the start of a dating relationship, neither one of us had any plans to up and move from one spot to another - so we were committed to making the relationship work from about 2.5 hours apart. I've never been so thankful for Face Time in my life!
The first weekend we were able to spend together was two weeks after we first met and I made the journey to Lancaster, PA for the weekend. We played goofy golf - I talked a lot of smack ahead of the game and while I didn't win, I did get a hole in one! I tried Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast for the first time, we wandered the River Trail near his house and went to church together for the first time. We'd only known one another about seven/eight weeks at this point - but I already knew he was it.
We made plans for him to come visit me in Virginia for the next "date" and little did I know - he'd talked with my parents and they pulled off quite the surprise. I came home from work on a Thursday afternoon and there he was - waiting for me with flowers! We explored all over the countryside of Northern Virginia and I took him to some of my favorite haunts and hollows... we celebrated Easter and my Dad's retirement and I introduced him to so many people and I just knew. And he did too - this was the first time we discussed that we were going to get married.
While visiting me he also gave me the biggest surprise when he took me to the mountainside at sunset and gave me a promise ring - telling me that he wanted us to build a life together and he was making a promise to me that we would plan and build our future together. I was blown away and what's more - my family knew about it! They were all in on it together and so very sneaky!
Between March and April we explored all over Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia - hiking and walking and exploring and getting to know one another with each and every adventure. Fridays were my favorite days because I was usually headed to see Ryan or he was headed to see me... and Sunday afternoons were my least favorite day because we were having to say good-bye to one another.
We spent a long weekend in Gettysburg at the end of April/in early May and explored all around the area, taking in the battlefield and coffee shops and so much more. In May Ryan joined my family as we headed to Mississippi for my cousin Colton's wedding - he met pretty much the entirety of my extended family over the course of four days as we went to a rehearsal dinner, a gender reveal, a wedding and so much more - exploring the area where I'd grown up and introducing him to the joys of Mississippi heat!
Another aspect of the trip to Mississippi that I so enjoyed was that on the way back to Northern Virginia we stopped for about 24 hours in one of my favorite places on Earth - I got to introduce Ryan to Gatlinburg! We had so much fun just exploring the town, riding the ski lifts to Anacostia, taking in all the beautiful mountain views and spending time together.
I think we managed to squeeze quite a lot in - we went into the National Park, we hiked to a waterfall, we had BBQ for dinner, we perused shops on the strip in Gatlinburg, we went to Anacostia and we even had time to fit in breakfast at our family's favorite spot - Pancake Pantry!
By the time Memorial Day weekend rolled around, I was headed back to Pennsylvania for the long weekend and we spent time touring Turkey Hill (ice cream y'all... and sweet tea... and so much more), catching a movie together and I also got to see Ryan eat the most food I've ever seen him eat at once - the boy likes a Chinese buffet, especially if seafood is involved!
Sometimes we spent time doing absolutely nothing but spending time together. Talking... getting to know one another, sharing our hopes and dreams and fears - it was always time well spent when we were spending time together. We made memories and put the foundations of our relationship in place piece by piece.
June arrived and Ryan and I embraced the summer with trips to the pool, hiking around the area and just enjoying soaking up time together... sometimes while we were also soaking up sun! This man surely tans better than I do, drat my fair complexion! We also toured a little place called Stoneyman Valley Ranch - remember that name because it will most definitely pop up again later, ha-ha!
The second weekend of June we hadn't originally planned to do anything but Ryan was off work on Saturday and Sunday and so on the spur of the moment, I hopped into the car on Saturday morning and headed to PA to hang out! I went to my first car show and later in the evening we had a wonderful dinner at Bonefish Grill - you see that picture on the top row, Ryan in white and me in pale pink? That's the face of a girl who has no clue that she will be a fiancé in just a couple hours...
And that's where I'll have to leave this post because what comes after that is the proposal - and that's a post for another day! Perhaps - next week? *wink*
What a wonderful story of you two getting acquainted!
ReplyDelete