Our Story

January 2014

Once Upon A Time

Raleigh Times “Staring Contest”

The first official encounter was at my friend Tera’s party, in downtown Raleigh. I went to the party alone, and arrived late. So already I felt a little out of place. I followed Tera around like a lost puppy, until she eventually shoved me in a group of coworkers that I didn’t know very well. Ryan happened to be in that group. I grabbed a beer and stared briefly at everyone, pretending to follow along with the conversation. What I was not expecting was when it was Ryan’s turn to be stared at, he was already staring at me. I quickly looked at someone else, and kept checking to see if he was still looking in my direction. We exchanged glances that night, but no words. Just brief…awkward…staring. I’m pretty sure he felt sorry for me because I left the party as soon as I finished my beer.

Two days later, I received a Facebook message from some cute guy with a beard. It was Ryan! He wanted to hang out and properly introduce himself. Naturally, I stalked his profile and found out that he worked with me. I immediately turned to my friend and coworker, Yolanda, to ask who he was, how old he was, and what his role was at work…you know, the typical “Is this guy a creep?” investigation.

Within minutes of gathering intel, the cute guy with the beard made his way over to my desk to make small talk and formally introduce himself. Yolanda was smiling ear to ear, watching it all unfold.

February 2014

Our First Date

“Everything is awesome!”

After introducing Ryan to my friends and getting the thumbs up, we had our first date on Valentine’s Day. The first movie we decided to see together was Lego Movie. We were both a bit overdressed for the movie, but got a kick out of being the only adults, with no kids, watching the movie. Afterwards, we had dinner at The Melting Pot. We talked so much that we barely ate any of the expensive food in front of us.

After dinner, we went downtown for a few drinks. Ryan tried to kiss me in the middle of our second drink, and everyone knows that a lady doesn’t kiss on the first date, even though I really wanted to kiss him too. It wasn’t until a week later, that we shared our first kiss. The build up and anticipation made it even more magical than we had imagined. I guess you could say “Everything was awesome!”

July 2016

The Proposal

She didn’t say “yes” first…

We went on a trip to Puerto Rico with two of my best friends, Kathy and Gro. We did so much on this vacation, that we actually experienced one of the worst sunburns you could ever imagine. I still have a tan line from this sunburn, over a year later.

Ryan was really interested in revisiting a fort that I previously took a picture at, during my first trip to Puerto Rico with Kathy. We visited the first part of the fort, and he kept asking “Is this it?” I said “No, that’s at the other location, a few blocks down.” That day was so hot and humid, and we were already so beaten up by the heat, that we knew the walk would be exhausting…but we did it anyways.

When we finally reached the second part of the fort, Kathy and Gro were too tired to come up the ramp you walk up when inside the fort. They told us to go on without them. However, Ryan walked back down and whispered something to both of them that perked ‘em right up, and both of them started marching up the ramp. Ryan then told me to take a seat in the same spot that I had taken the picture during my previous visit. As I sat down, Kathy took some pictures and told me to look out to the ocean. When I turned back to face everyone, Ryan approached me with a big smile on his face and said “Jessica Lynn Harper…” That’s when I knew what was about to happen. As he bent to one knee, overlooking the fort, he asked “Will you marry me?” I was shaking in excitement, but before I could say yes, I asked “Did you ask my dad for permission?” Ryan chuckled and said that he did. That’s when I finally said “Yes!”

December 10, 2017

Wedding Day

I do!

Through thick and thin, we made it here.
Let’s celebrate our future years.