How did you meet?

Like any great love story, Clara and Ryan met on Hinge, of course!

Clara’s favorite story to tell about their first date is that after the date, Ryan didn’t even ask for her phone number! 

Who made the first move?

Ryan made the first move! 

What first attracted you to each other?

Clara:

The first thing that attracted me to Ryan was how kind he was and how much effort he put into making time for us to hang out. 

In addition, I also loved how much he prioritized his friendships and made an effort to get to know my friends. 

Ryan:

I was instantly taken by Clara’s passion to help others. Learning that Clara is quite the smartypants and that she wanted to use that big brain of hers to pursue a career in nursing - which she has been absolutely kicking butt doing, saving lives for a few years already! - was an instant draw for me.

In addition, Clara quickly made it clear how important her family and friends are to her, which I was immediately able to connect with her on, being a big family and friends guy, myself.

And let’s just address the elephant in the room, shall we?…she’s absolutely gorgeous! 

What is your favorite memory with each other?

Clara:

My favorite memory with Ryan was absolutely the day we got engaged! We were surrounded by both of our families, on a beautiful hike, and had both of our dogs with us! 

Ryan: 

We’ve had so many wonderful moments together, but the waterfall engagement - Clara’s 29th birthday weekend as whole, really - takes the cake for the both of us!

What is your favorite way of spending time together?

Clara:

My favorite thing to do with Ryan is anything outside! 

Ryan is always showing me that I am capable of much more than I think I am. Every ski season he encourages me to ride more difficult mountains and every summer he encourages me to hike harder trails. 

Also, anything we get to do with our dogs is always a wonderful time! 

 

Ryan:

Enjoying the outdoors is easily our favorite thing to do together!

Whether it’s snowboarding, hiking, or going to a concert, we love any opportunity to share our time outside.

We especially love to spend it with our little “foxes”!

How did you get engaged? 

Well, you already heard the part about being at the waterfall with our families, but what you may not know is that we almost didn’t make it!…we were falling “behind schedule” for lunch, as the hike up was steep and it began to rain heavily halfway through, causing us to stop for an extended break under a tree for nearly a half hour. Eventually we were able to continue and ultimately made it to the top, where Ryan had planned to pop the big question. As he climbed up closer to the basin of waterfall, he called for Clara to come meet him to “take a photo together” and, to his surprise, she had refused. Clara was in hangry mode and wanted to turn backso we could go eat! Thanks to Danya’s quick wit, Clara was convinced to go meet Ryan, where they finally got their photo, and Clara got her ring…and later, her lunch!

Why did you decide on a destination wedding?

Instead of having a one-night celebration, we wanted a to spend several days with all of our favorite people, in such a beautiful place! 

Having a destination wedding allows us to spend quality time with everyone over the course of the trip, and we can’t wait!

And besides, how often do we get the chance to go on vacation with all of our closest friends and family?!