Ryan & Marcy

I read through the last post and realized March 2008 is over a year now, at that time we had only been married three months. It has been almost a year and half now and this past year has flown by so fast. We have traveled to Boston, Las Vegas, Michegon, and Italy.  Ryan moved out of the fitness center where he taught his martial arts classes and opened his own stand alone martial arts studio.  I started a lingerie ecommerce store and Ryan helped me start a lingerie blog, which has been fun to work on.

It was a busy 2008!

The plan for 2009 is to continue progressing both businesses, travel to San Diego, and hopefully plan for a baby! I really hope that I will be pregnant before the year is over. Our 2 bedroom condo will be a bit too small for 3 but by next year we will find a nice home for our little family. But for now with just the 2 of us, it works.

That is the plan anyway.

Wanted to quickly check in, but we plan to upload more photos in the photo gallery soon.

I received an email from Ryan to assist me in accessing these updates….I believe my one and only message was back in October. What makes this 3 months significant is that it has finally been a year now since we met. It was entertaining reminding Ryan of all the “one year ago’s” through February, after all that was the month we officially met face to face.

I would like to personally and publicly thank all of our friends and family who gave us so much love and support through all of the planning and those who where able to join us on that special day. We appreciated all of the long distant support as well, the wedding was during the holiday season when everyone’s life can become more hectic. The event in Montana was very nice where Ryan and I enjoyed the time we were able to spend with those in my home town. I wish I could say it was smooth sailing when we stepped off the plane in Billings, however we only made it to Billings with one piece of luggage….there was suppose to be three. Luckily that one bag was mine, but I did feel bad for my husband, he had to borrow a pair of my dad’s pajama bottoms and slept in the same t-shirt he traveled in. The Glendive airport was a beautiful sight the next afternoon at 3pm, because our luggage finally made it out of Salt Lake City to Billings to Glendive! Nothing like a memorable first trip to Montana for Ryan; I hope the favor is not returned to me when we go visit his family in Michigan.

We have received several requests for photos and they are finally live! Sorry for the delay. We just got back from a week in Glendive Montana to visit Marcy’s parent’s and had a local reception there. photos from that event will be posted asap.

Pictures taken by Wedding Photographer Tae Bowen
Pictures taken by Kendall Wheaton

For those who missed them see our engagement photos taken by Jess Leonard here.

Marcy and I would like to thank our family and friends who made it to our wedding and to the reception. It was a wonderful winter day, beautiful ceremony, a fun reception, and, of course, Marcy was stunning. Frankly, I don’t really know how it could have gone better.

More details and photos coming soon!

Let me start by saying that Marcy is incredible and I love her deeply. She’s beautiful, fun, witty, energetic, selfless, and is also a very kind and caring person. Plus, she can’t live or breathe without me.

The two of us together are perfect.

With that said, any points I just made by stating that in public will quickly be taken back with what I’m about to reveal about the night I proposed to Marcy.

But I digress.

Let me start from the beginning and tell the facts as I know them.

As any guy about to propose will tell you, it’s not easy. I had been struggling with a good way to propose as I definitely didn’t want to start things off by messing that one up. So, I carefully and diligently thought of the best place to do it.

Perhaps I’ll propose at a sporting event? Marcy isn’t into any sports, neither am I, so that didn’t make any sense. Perhaps on the Today Show? Marcy doesn’t watch the Today show and last I checked we weren’t in New York. Perhaps on a bill board? There aren’t any billboards between her house and mine. Strike three. I had to get more creative.

After racking my brain, searching for tips online, and consulting my friends… lightning struck. I thought, “I know, I’ll propose the first place we met!” What a great idea, Ryan. Brilliant. That’s never been done before…

So, it had to be the coffee shop where we first meet.

We’ll technically, we met in the parking lot…

No, scratch that.

It was in the alley way on the way to the coffee shop.

For those that don’t know. Marcy and I had only exchanged emails and phone calls until I felt it was safe enough to meet her face to face (I mean, you can’t be too safe as you never know what kind of crazy people are out there).

We met a few hours before she had to go work figuring that would give us enough time. Like any good former boy scout, I had my plan in place if things went south. The plan was simple: I had made arrangements with a friend of mine to call my cell phone, I’d pretend it was an emergency, and leave without ever calling her again. It was going to be a clean break and the perfect get away plan.

So much for that idea…

When she drove in through the alley where I was standing on my way to the coffee shop, thinking I was late but it turns out she was later, I looked into her car to find her eyes were like two emeralds in the sun as she looked back at me. WOW! I remember thinking how attracted she was to me at that moment and we hadn’t even really met yet.

We shook hands or something, as that is what women who are nervous do, then we walked to the coffee shop only to find it was closed.

Great planning Marcy.

So, we drove up the street to the coffee shop that was open and ordered, then sat for what felt like an hour. Turns out it was really over four hours and had lost all track of time. She apparently was hanging on my every word and couldn’t help herself. Of course, I had to do all the talking, as I would later find out, Marcy isn’t much of a talker…

Because I didn’t need to take that “emergency call,” I asked Marcy out for another date and knew she would, of course, say “yes.” She’ll tell you that she was the one that said we should go out again and that I seemed surprised she’d go on another date with me, but we all know how women can exaggerate things…

So, our “official” first date (the one after my screening date to see if she was crazy or not) was dinner at a sushi restaurant and is why I thought this was the perfect idea for “The Proposal Night.”

Like our first date, she didn’t order ANY sushi and enjoyed another delicious chicken teriyaki dinner.

After dinner, we made our way back to the coffee shop – the one that was originally closed. I told her that I wanted to get desert about a block from the coffee shop so it looked random.

But something inside me said she knew I was up to something.

It definitely wasn’t the cold, clammy hand that was holding hers. Nope. That wasn’t it… It must be that women’s 6th sense I’ve heard about. I know for a fact it wasn’t the lump in my coat pocket from the over sized ring box that I had been lugging around with me all night long or the fact that the words coming out of my mouth made no sense. Noooooo…

We pulled into the parking lot in the back, walked down the alley way, and walked in just as we had tried to do when we first met.

This time, thankfully, it was open.

We ordered, sat down, and chatted about who knows what, then made our way back out to the car after who knows how long. Apparently I stopped in the alley way on the precise spot where I first saw her (and her eyes), took her left hand, and told her who knows what, and can’t really remember if she ever really said yes much less if a question was indeed posed. Next thing I know she had a ring on her finger and we were engaged.

Frankly, all I remember is how nervous Marcy was.

Ryan formally proposed on Friday evening October 12th at the place we first met. When I arrive at Ryan’s place he was ironing his shirt and looking handsome, in fact he was wearing something very similar to what he wore when we first met…..black button up collared shirt, jeans, and black leather shoes.

It was a nice warm October night and we headed downtown Salt Lake City to have dinner at RedRock; a place we had eaten at many times during our dating. After dinner instead of heading toward the freeway, Ryan turned east toward the mountains and in the direction of the place we first met back in February.

He turned off of 4th south into an alley that leads to parking behind Salt Lake Roasting Company, when he turned i knew something was up and i got a little nervous. We walked inside, ordered a dessert, sat down and chatted for what seemed like hours. By the time we decided to leave it was 11:30pm and we head back to the car. As we walked down the sidewalk that led us back to the car, Ryan stopped, grabbed each of my hands in his and turned me so i was facing him. He squeezed my hands tight and I knew from his subtle nervousness that this was it. What he said from there is somewhat of a blur in my mind now; but what i do remember will stay with me forever.

I always wondered what this day would be like when the man of my dreams would ask me to marry him. I didn’t know it would involve a back alley way with strangers walking by as he hugged me tightly telling me how much he loved me. I didn’t know eight months ago in that very spot as Ryan walked down the sidewalk and we made eye contact for the first time as i drove by, it would later become a place never to be forgotten. I didn’t even know that he would actually get down on one knee and put the most beautiful ring on my finger and it fit perfectly! I did know that I would cry and that I would jump up and down and say “Yes!“