ABOUT US

It all started in 6th grade, meeting each other in Ms. Bassett’s classroom at Caroline Wenzel Elementary School. We knew of each other as youngsters but never really established a "relationship" in all senses of the word. We would casually pass each other saying "hi" for the next 6 years as nothing more than acquaintances.   

Upon graduating from John F. Kennedy High School, we went down separate paths: Ryan ventured off to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to become some sort of “engi-nerd,” and Vanessa got in touch with her inner hipster at San Francisco State University.  

Once Ryan finished doing loads of math and problem solving, he got a job as a technology consultant for Accenture in San Francisco. Before joining the workforce he decided to spend the summer in Sacramento. At the time, it didn't seem like much but it was the summer that changed his life forever.

That summer, we were reconnected through mutual friends and gradually became more than acquaintances. Ryan discovered the way to a junk-food-lover's heart and swept Vanessa off her feet when he took her to the infamous Ford's Burgers as their first date.       

After Vanessa picked up a couple of degrees from SFSU, we decided it was time to make moves toward better weather and a drastically shorter work commute. We landed in San Jose and shared our first apartment together. Life was great. We worked well as a team and knew we had something special.  

We soon realized we both wanted to pursue graduate school, so we were faced with our toughest test yet -- long-distance. Ryan began reliving the college dream at The University of Michigan with intense football tailgating and school pride, drowning in booze infested parties that rivaled scenes from the movie Old School. Meanwhile, Vanessa took the greatest leap of faith she’d ever taken - she moved to Chicago and began attending optometry school at her paternal grandfather’s alma mater, The Illinois College of Optometry.

Once Ryan completed his MBA, he was fortunate enough to land himself a job in Chicago and was reunited with Vanessa. In Chicago, we adopted a beagle-shepherd mix, and named her Zoe.  She has been one of the greatest additions to our lives, and her husky figure is proof of just how spoiled she is!

In August 2015, Ryan finally popped the ultimate question while on a family vacation to Hawaii. A couple years and a Chicago condo later, here we are...9 years in the making...