Our Love Story

How we met:  I met my husband Ryan in the summer of 2009 during an internship that we both had with the Houston Astros.  My internship was with the conference center and special events department and Ryan worked in the engineering department, which was responsible for stadium operations as well as setting up all of the A/V equipment for our department's corporate meetings/events.

I can recall the first few interactions I had with Ryan... I just thought he was this nerdy engineer from Rice so I would try to act as obnoxious as I could around him just to make him as uncomfortable as possible.  I guess it worked out :).  After an intern softball game one Saturday, Ryan, myself and 2 other interns decided to head to Jack-in-the-box after the game.  We all ended up staying there for over 4 hours just talking!  This was when I really got to know Ryan for the first time.  SO...after lots of phone calls and text messages, he FINALLY asked me out on a date!  We had our first date at the Museum of Natural Science and went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.  (I can still remember him holding my hand for the first time!)  We then went to dinner at Auntie Chang's dumpling house and then even went to grab drinks after that!  (That's how you know you've found THE one - when it just seems like you never want any of your dates to end!)  I still had a semester of college left and Ryan still had a full year, so we dated "long distance" for half a year. 

The first *official* picture we were in together - at Minute
Maid Park. Shout out to Summer 2009 Intern Class!!

Our first bf/gf pic together - Margarita Salsa Festival!

Our home: In the fall of 2011, Ryan decided that the time was right for him to purchase a home.  Financial and legal oneness were very important for us to reserve for marriage, so although my participation in the home-buying process was minimal, I was still allowed some input :). I started to get into the "playing house" mode and began picking out paint colors and furniture and making plans to change things in the house. For some people, this might not be a big deal but to me, by "playing house" I was taking away from what I wanted to do as someone's wife, not as someone's girlfriend or even fiance.  I forced myself to take a step back and had a very difficult time making myself accept the fact that this was not my/our house (yet), and that it wasn't right for me to pretend that it was (even though I knew that one day it would be!)  At the time, I can recall how hard for me to understand why a house was coming before an engagement (because Ryan knew that we would not be living together until after marriage) and I really felt like he was putting this ahead of our relationship.  (Yes, a few minor tantrums were thrown.)  However, Ryan is such a planner, a "ducks-in-a-row" kind of person, that now I am so SO grateful for how much thought and preparation he put into setting himself up to provide for his future family.  Purchasing a house was something he was determined to do on his own and I was 110% behind him on that. (However, I can say that it did feel AMAZING that day we came back from our honeymoon and it was finally OUR house and I got to actually sleep under that roof for the first time - something I refused to do until we SAID "I do"!)  So, I did everything I humanly could to muster up as much patience as possible to wait for that special time to come and now I am so glad I did.

Our engagement: Fast forward a few months (which at the time felt like an eternity!!!) it was 7:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning when Ryan woke me up with a kiss.  (I had very little sleep the night before as I was assisting with a "God, Sex, Love and Dating" all-weekend youth event at my church.)  Needless to say, I was not in the best mood at that moment.  However, I noticed that Ryan had a bouquet of yellow roses, so I thought I should make a conscious effort not to be a huge brat right off the bat.  I looked down to see a small box sitting on my pillow and realized what was going on.  As I sat up, Ryan began to tell me of all of the feelings that he has for me.  He then got down on one knee, opened the box and asked me to be his wife.  I said YES!  After we prayed together and shared some hugs and tears, I then had to go run 11 miles so I had to keep it a secret until we had a chance to tell our families afterwards - longest 11 miles of my life!!

I LOVED being engaged and I loved planning for our wedding and I truly tried to enjoy that time - as you only get to be someone's fiance once!  I was never that bride who was just "ready for it to be over" or "sick of planning".  That's not how it's supposed to be!  I loved every minute.  Our engagement was just under 8 months long and it was perfect for us.  

Our wedding: On October 6, 2012 we were married and it was the most perfect day I could have ever imagined.  

A few of my favorite details from our big day!

Wedding colors: Navy blue, white and silver/grey

Ceremony: First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood

Reception: Humble Civic Center
Ceremony music: Violin, Harp, Piano and Organ; Piano Solo - For the Beauty of the Earth; Violin/Harp - Come Thou Fount

Introduction song:  You're My Better Half - Keith Urban

First dance: Night and Day - Frank Sinatra

Last dance: At Last - Etta James

Special flowers: Gardenias (LZ Floral Design)

Transpo: party bus - onyx limo; getaway BMW - Four Seasons Hotel

Exit: Flutterfetti confetti tubes

Life since the wedding:  We now have a beautiful baby girl named Heidi Rose, born May 20, 2014, a handsome baby boy named Wells Allan, born March 30, 2016 and our third baby Cameron Heather, born September 27, 2017.  (Heidi, Wells and Cameron have their own pages, but they are also a result of God's love and our love story thus far so I felt like they deserved a place here too. Plus, I need an excuse to post more pictures of them!)

Click HERE for more maternity pictures when I was pregnant with Heidi!

Photo by Sarah McKenzie Photography