Ryan & Ali

Ryan and Ali met in 8th grade and became good friends throughout high school. By high school graduation they were best friends and beer pong partners at every graduation party during the summer of 2010. They went their separate ways for college, but visited each other for football games and concerts.

They began talking more and skyping from their college dorms toward the end of freshman year. Ali surprised Ryan in Madison on April 2, 2011 where they shared their first date and first kiss. They spent their first summer together in Dubuque and made the most of it! The next 3 years were spent doing a long distance relationship between Iowa City and Madison, visiting whenever possible.

Finally, college graduation came and being long distance came to an end! Ryan got a job at True North in Cedar Rapids and moved to Iowa City while Ali worked as a nursing assistant at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. They moved in together the following year in North Liberty with Ryan's golden retriever, Autumn. They learned a lot about each other that first year living together, like how to "share" a closet, but their love for each other continued to grow.

They moved back to Dubuque in summer 2016 for Ali to start PA school. They didn't want to do long distance again so Ryan commuted to Cedar Rapids daily for work for almost 3 years, what a guy! PA school was not easy for either of them, especially once Ali was moving every month for rotations, but they made it work! Ali graduated in December 2018 and was still (impatiently) waiting for Ryan to propose. On January 12, 2019 Ryan proposed at Lake Mendota in Madison, where they shared their first day together back in 2011, followed by dinner at the restaurant where they had their first date. They are excited for what their future holds and can't wait for June 20, 2020!!