Wedding Wednesday(s) - How We Met

There is so much that goes into planning a wedding and I have been waiting a long time for our big day - so I wanted to share all the fun aspects of planning our wedding! I thought the best place to start would be to share how Ryan and I met... especially since we "met" on February 15, 2021 - almost a year to the date of this first post!

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I was a long time eHarmony subscriber - I'd signed up for the year long plan in February of 2020 - right before the pandemic; the irony is not lost on me! Of course, no one knew how much the pandemic would affect every aspect of our lives in February of 2020 and I was convinced that 2020 was "my year". Fast forward to February of 2021 when the pandemic was still "a thing", I'd been on one or two lackluster dates and my year long membership was quickly coming to an end. I prayed about it and expanded my search radius from 90 miles to 150 miles and had determined that I would be aggressive (if you can categorize anything I do as aggressive) the final week of my membership and then I'd let it go.

Insert Ryan - who signed up for a President's Day free membership weekend - and was a resident of Lancaster, PA which is conveniently located just 145 miles away (depending on the route you take). He says he was matched with me on February 14th but didn't say anything until the next day when I "liked" his profile after we were matched. And then he messaged me with three little words: "well hello there" and the rest is history.

Ryan explained that because he had the free preview, he hoped we could exchange phone numbers and I wouldn't think he was weird - so I went for it because I just had a feeling. Dating sites will warn you not to do this, but something told me to take a chance and I'm so glad I did. We text all evening on February 15th and he was eager to chat on the phone via Face Time the next night - but I told him we'd have to postpone the Face Time until the 17th - I had a dentist appointment on the 16th and didn't want to have a puffy face on the phone, ha-ha! It's all about making a good first impression, right?

We talked on the phone for the first time on February 16th and when I started talking, Ryan said "well I'm done for - listen to that voice"... I guess having a Southern accent isn't so bad all the time! *wink* We talked for almost two hours on that first phone call and after that, it was Face Time for at least an hour a night over the next two weeks. We talked about anything and everything and I think one of the things that stood out to me immediately about Ryan was his honesty: he was honest about his past and he was also honest about his passion to move into his future pursuing Christ first in all things - that honesty was something that immediately spoke to me.

Within two weeks of talking, we began planning to meet in person and settled on Saturday, March 6th in Lancaster, PA - Greenfield Park, to be exact. Everything was going so well and it was remarkable to me how we seemed to align on so many things and just continued to absolutely click in so many ways! We continued to Face Time each night and counted down the days until we planned to meet for the first time! Finally - the day arrived and I have to say, there were no nerves about meeting Ryan - just absolute excitement and anticipation! My family joined me for the day in Lancaster and the closer we got to the park, the more excited I got! 

My parents dropped me off and there he stood - on the curb in his jacket and hat, smiling so big and when he hugged me, I was already done. I knew the moment I saw him and being wrapped in his arms just confirmed it. We spent the rest of the day together and while it was pretty windy at the park (PA in early March isn't so warm) - I know it sounds cliché but I didn't even feel the cold. You can all gag if you'd like over how syrupy sweet that might sound; I know my jaded self would have a year ago, so I get it! When the time came to drive home, I felt like I was leaving a part of myself in Amish country.

I remember changing my relationship status on Facebook (we all know how important that is) and thinking to myself "the next time I change this will be when we get engaged" and you may say I'm insane - but I think that when you know, you know. And with Ryan - I knew. I assured Ryan I could have never admitted to him in the moment that I knew so soon because he'd have probably thought I was insane but he has since admitted that he knew the moment he saw me... and he didn't mean in person.*sigh*

The most wonderful part of all this is something a friend reminded me of shortly after I announced Ryan and I were together - on March 6, 2020 (before the pandemic had taken hold of us all) at a Ladies Prayer Night, my ladies group gathered around me and prayed specifically for my future spouse. Fast forward to exactly a year later and there he was - standing in front of me, a literal answered prayer. And he is that - and continues to be that - an answered prayer and a man of God and so much more than I could have asked for. The Lord knows exactly what we need and exactly who we need and after years of waiting, I have the answer to my long-prayed prayer - I have my Ryan! 

Hope that wasn't too sappy for you all - and if it was, well - my coworkers have informed me that since I started dating Ryan that he has "cracked me open" and made me all squishy. Ha-ha! Hope you enjoyed the first post of this new series as I count down to our big day!