How We Met
Ryan and I met at Michigan State University early in our junior year. I had worked with his former roommate earlier in the summer, and we met at the friend/roommate's party. We went on a couple dates, and then I practically moved in! That was back in October 2005, and I can wait to finally call Ryan my husband!
Engagement Story
Warning: It's long!
I (Bethany) am the planner in this relationship. Last fall I had been talking about planning a vacation. One evening after a football game, Ryan told me I should plan a trip to Disney. It was a surprising choice, but I love Disney, so I got busy planning. I ended up finding a great deal June 30 to July 4. I will admit now, I had wondered if there might be more to this vacation, but I tried to keep that to the back of my mind. :)
After a few days at Disney, there were no hints of a proposal, so I kind of gave up on that thought. (Ryan tells me now with the hot and sticky or rainy weather it just didn't seem right). On Thursday, we went to Epcot. After a full day at the park, we decided to check out the Boardwalk area. It was gorgeous there and we really enjoyed the evening.
For Friday evening, I made dinner reservations to the California Grill at the top of the Contemporary Resort. I suggested we take a cab to Downtown Disney for a pre-dinner drink. He mentioned going back to Boardwalk, but I explained it would take a little more work to get over to the Contemporary from there. The cab comes, and I start to say Downtown Disney for our destination, and he changes it to the Boardwalk. It seemed a little odd, but I go with it.
Well, we get there and it is SO hot, but we stroll around. We can't decide on any place to go, so we walk around. There is a beautiful gazebo that faces the one half of the Boardwalk and we go up there, but we just continue on our lap around. Then we grab a beer at the Yacht Club and sit in the lobby to cool down. At this point, I figure my suspicions are silly and just enjoy my drink. (Apparently Ryan has been hiding a ring box from me this whole time, and even has to hide it under a pillow on the Yacht Club couch!)
I know this is going on awhile, so sure enough, we do the full lap around and end up back by this gazebo. Ryan says let's take a picture here with the view. I say okay, do you want me to grab someone, and he says no, let's use your camera timer. We go up and he says one second...sets my purse down and leads me to the railing. And as soon as I hear "Well, I didn't ask you to plan this trip to Disney just for a vacation..." I knew. He said some beautiful words and then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was the sweetest thing and better than anything I could have imagined. (I also now know that there were people in the gazebo on our first lap around.)
We ended the night with an amazing celebration dinner while watching beautiful fireworks over the Magic Kingdom.
I (Bethany) am the planner in this relationship. Last fall I had been talking about planning a vacation. One evening after a football game, Ryan told me I should plan a trip to Disney. It was a surprising choice, but I love Disney, so I got busy planning. I ended up finding a great deal June 30 to July 4. I will admit now, I had wondered if there might be more to this vacation, but I tried to keep that to the back of my mind. :)
After a few days at Disney, there were no hints of a proposal, so I kind of gave up on that thought. (Ryan tells me now with the hot and sticky or rainy weather it just didn't seem right). On Thursday, we went to Epcot. After a full day at the park, we decided to check out the Boardwalk area. It was gorgeous there and we really enjoyed the evening.
For Friday evening, I made dinner reservations to the California Grill at the top of the Contemporary Resort. I suggested we take a cab to Downtown Disney for a pre-dinner drink. He mentioned going back to Boardwalk, but I explained it would take a little more work to get over to the Contemporary from there. The cab comes, and I start to say Downtown Disney for our destination, and he changes it to the Boardwalk. It seemed a little odd, but I go with it.
Well, we get there and it is SO hot, but we stroll around. We can't decide on any place to go, so we walk around. There is a beautiful gazebo that faces the one half of the Boardwalk and we go up there, but we just continue on our lap around. Then we grab a beer at the Yacht Club and sit in the lobby to cool down. At this point, I figure my suspicions are silly and just enjoy my drink. (Apparently Ryan has been hiding a ring box from me this whole time, and even has to hide it under a pillow on the Yacht Club couch!)
I know this is going on awhile, so sure enough, we do the full lap around and end up back by this gazebo. Ryan says let's take a picture here with the view. I say okay, do you want me to grab someone, and he says no, let's use your camera timer. We go up and he says one second...sets my purse down and leads me to the railing. And as soon as I hear "Well, I didn't ask you to plan this trip to Disney just for a vacation..." I knew. He said some beautiful words and then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was the sweetest thing and better than anything I could have imagined. (I also now know that there were people in the gazebo on our first lap around.)
We ended the night with an amazing celebration dinner while watching beautiful fireworks over the Magic Kingdom.
