In 2011, in a frat basement in St. Louis, Ryan saw a girl in a green dress. Kathryn, as he would later learn her name, was, in fact, not interested in dancing or playing any drinking games, and instead, very much preferred to not talk to him. Somewhat bummed, Ryan moped away and wondered how Kathryn could possibly resist his charms. Fortunately, Maddy (already an outstanding future bridesmaid) swooped in to explain that Kathryn was involved in a long-distance relationship. Confidence restored, Ryan only thought more highly of Kathryn and her strong moral compass and resolved to talk to her again if she should ever be single.

Fast forward a year and our fated couple meet again--this time at that most classic of college parties: an acapella party. Ryan impressed Kathryn by saying "Hi Kathryn" before she had even introduced herself, and with the fact that he had not only heard of Ashland, Oregon, but that he had actually visited twice before (his mom’s best childhood friend serendipitously lives blocks away from Kathryn’s childhood home). Kathryn impressed Ryan by talking to him, and by being single. Ryan proposed a first date: the next day at the exclusive upperclassman cafeteria...swoon. Two weeks later, they were officially dating, and their adventure had well and truly begun!

All before graduating college, Kathryn and Ryan continued to adventure. They made two cross-country road trips: one from Ashland to St. Louis (Ryan learned what real mountains were), and another from Michigan to Texas via St. Louis (Kathryn learned what armadillos were)! They built a castle in France (www.guedelon.fr/en), they backpacked in Spain, Portugal, and Croatia, and made countless memories. However, they both realized that despite their mutual adoration, they were also only 22, and had (seemingly) diverging life paths: Kathryn headed to Denver to serve as an AmeriCorps volunteer, and Ryan to Houston for medical school. And so, with heavy hearts, next to the River Seine in Paris, they resolved to separate.

So for a period, our couple lived separate lives, until November 2015, when Kathryn’s father, Bruce, unexpectedly and suddenly passed away. A few weeks later, Ryan appeared on Kathryn’s doorstep “to be an old friend in a new city during a hard time.” Through this difficult period of grief, Ryan commuted from Houston to Denver, first as a supporting friend, then as a mountain adventure buddy, and finally, once again, as a long-distance boyfriend. As Kathryn’s experience with AmeriCorps came to an end, she went back on her former promise to herself (“I will NEVER live in Texas”) and, after driving 18 hours south with all of her belongings packed into her Ford Focus, moved in with Ryan in Houston!

Living in Houston was lovely: our couple got used to having good cheap TexMex, large margaritas, easy trips down to Galveston, and many, many dinner parties with Ryan’s family. However, Kathryn & Ryan realized they missed the easy access to nature that they’d enjoyed in Denver, and Kathryn was looking for new professional opportunities. It wasn’t until a fateful week in March, 2019, that they discovered where they would end up: Kathryn was accepted into her dream graduate program - a dual MBA/MPH at UC Berkeley - just three days before Ryan matched to his top choice Emergency Medicine residency program at UCSF. Oh happy days - our couple was off to the Bay!

Now as Californians, their adventures continued: Big Sur, Yosemite, Joshua Tree-oh my! And then, one wintery day, they went up together to Tahoe to play. And whilst snowshoeing on Chickadee Ridge, Ryan asked Kathryn if she’d mind being his? “Yes” she screamed all stoked and thrilled, and together they ate ring pops and delighted in the view, for now they were together forever, together as two :)

And so we invite you, our dear friends and family, to join us in Ashland Oregon on the day listed above, so that y’all can bear witness to our eternal love!